22
Sāṅkhya Kārikā / Verses 22–55, the world / 22
प्रकृतेर् महांस् ततोऽहङ्कारस् तस्माद् गणश् च षोडशकः तस्मादपि षोडशकात् पञ्चभ्यः पञ्च भूतानि
prakṛter mahāṃs tato 'haṅkāras tasmād gaṇaś ca ṣoḍaśakaḥ tasmād api ṣoḍaśakāt pañcabhyaḥ pañca bhūtāni
The line
From nature comes the great one, from that the I-maker, from that the group of sixteen, and from five of that group the five elements.
नेपालीमा
प्रकृतिबाट महत् आउँछ, त्यसबाट अहङ्कार, त्यसबाट सोह्रको समूह, र त्यो समूहका पाँचबाट पाँच भूत आउँछन्।
Where it sits
Verse 3's counts are now an order. Root nature you already have. The seven that are both producer and product are mahat (महत्), ahaṅkāra (अहङ्कार), and the five subtle elements. The sixteen products are mind, ten senses, and five gross elements, with the subtle elements counted on the 'both' side rather than the 'product only' side. The arithmetic of verse 3 and the sequence here are the same tree, drawn two ways. If the counts feel like they collide, stay with verse 3's four classes and let this verse be the order of birth.
Split: prakṛteḥ (प्रकृतेः) + mahān (महान्) + tataḥ (ततः) + ahaṅkāraḥ (अहङ्कारः) + tasmāt (तस्मात्) + gaṇaḥ (गणः) + ca (च) + ṣoḍaśakaḥ (षोडशकः) + tasmāt (तस्मात्) + api (अपि) + ṣoḍaśakāt (षोडशकात्) + pañcabhyaḥ (पञ्चभ्यः) + pañca (पञ्च) + bhūtāni (भूतानि)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| prakṛteḥ (प्रकृतेः) | ablative singular, feminine | from nature. |
| mahān (महान्) | nominative singular, masculine | the great one. mahat (महत्), buddhi (बुद्धि), intellect. |
| tataḥ (ततः) | indeclinable | from that. |
| ahaṅkāraḥ (अहङ्कारः) | nominative singular, masculine | the I-maker. The sense 'I am this.' |
| tasmāt (तस्मात्) | ablative | from that. |
| gaṇaḥ (गणः) | nominative singular, masculine | the group. |
| ṣoḍaśakaḥ (षोडशकः) | nominative singular, masculine | the sixteenfold. Mind, ten senses, five subtle elements. |
| ṣoḍaśakāt (षोडशकात्) | ablative singular | from that group of sixteen. |
| pañcabhyaḥ (पञ्चभ्यः) | ablative plural | from five. The five subtle elements, not from all sixteen. |
| pañca bhūtāni (पञ्च भूतानि) | nominative plural, neuter | the five gross elements. Space, air, fire, water, earth, in the usual order of arising. |
The phrases
Four steps, each an ablative plus a nominative. From A, B. The creation is a sequence, not a pile.
pañcabhyaḥ (पञ्चभ्यः) restricts the last step. The five elements come from five members of the sixteen, the tanmātras (तन्मात्र), not from the senses. Verse 24 and 25 say this again more slowly.
tato 'haṅkāraḥ (ततोऽहङ्कारः) drops the a (अ) of ahaṅkāra (अहङ्कार) after tataḥ (ततः). Split tataḥ ahaṅkāraḥ (ततः अहङ्कारः). Recite with the avagraha.
Sanskrit in this line
Ablative is 'from.' Four ablatives, four births. mahān (महान्) is nominative of mahat (महत्), a stem in -at (-अत्), like a participle. The masculine nominative is -ān (-आन्).
Say it back
Walk the sequence with your hand: nature, great, I-maker, sixteen, five elements.