Shloka 9
Adhyāya 40: Brahmā on Mahān (The Great Principle) and the All-Pervading Puruṣa
अहंकारात् प्रसूतानि महाभूतानि पञ्च वै । पृथिवी वायुराकाशमापो ज्योतिश्व॒ पठचमम्,पृथ्वी, वायु, आकाश, जल और पाँचवाँ तेज--ये पाँचों महाभूत अहंकारसे उत्पन्न होते हैं
ahaṅkārāt prasūtāni mahābhūtāni pañca vai | pṛthivī vāyur ākāśam āpo jyotiś ca pañcamam ||
Vāyu-deva said: “From ego-sense (ahaṅkāra) arise the five great elements indeed—earth, wind, space, water, and as the fifth, fire/light. Thus the embodied world is traced back to the inner principle of ‘I’-making, reminding one to restrain pride and cultivate discernment.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a cosmological-ethical insight: the five great elements that constitute the material world are said to arise from ahaṅkāra (the ego-sense). Recognizing ego as a root cause encourages humility, discrimination (viveka), and loosening attachment to bodily identity.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener by outlining the origin of the physical constituents of the world. The statement functions as a doctrinal explanation within the discourse, grounding moral self-restraint in a metaphysical account of how embodied existence is formed.