श्रीउद्धव उवाच कति तत्त्वानि विश्वेश सङ्ख्यातान्यृषिभि: प्रभो । नवैकादश पञ्च त्रीण्यात्थ त्वमिह शुश्रुम ॥ १ ॥ केचित् षड्विंशतिं प्राहुरपरे पञ्चविंशतिम् । सप्तैके नव षट् केचिच्चत्वार्येकादशापरे । केचित् सप्तदश प्राहु: षोडशैके त्रयोदश ॥ २ ॥ एतावत्त्वं हि सङ्ख्यानामृषयो यद्विवक्षया । गायन्ति पृथगायुष्मन्निदं नो वक्तुमर्हसि ॥ ३ ॥
śrī-uddhava uvāca kati tattvāni viśveśa saṅkhyātāny ṛṣibhiḥ prabho navaikādaśa pañca trīṇy āttha tvam iha śuśruma kecit ṣaḍ-viṁśatiṁ prāhur apare pañca-viṁśatiṁ saptaike nava ṣaṭ kecic catvāry ekādaśāpare kecit saptadaśa prāhuḥ ṣoḍaśaike trayodaśa etāvattvaṁ hi saṅkhyānām ṛṣayo yad-vivakṣayā gāyanti pṛthag āyuṣmann idaṁ no vaktum arhasi
- śrī-uddhavaḥ uvāca
- Śrī Uddhava said
- kati
- how many
- tattvāni
- basic elements of creation
- viśva-īśa
- O Lord of the universe
- saṅkhyātāni
- have been enumerated
- ṛṣibhiḥ
- by great authorities
- prabho
- O my master
- nava
- nine (God, the individual soul, the mahat-tattva, false ego and the five gross elements)
- ekādaśa
- plus eleven (the ten knowledge-acquiring and working senses together with the mind)
- pañca
- plus five (the subtle forms of the sense objects)
- trīṇi
- plus three (the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance, making altogether a total of twenty-eight)
- āttha
- have stated
- tvam
- You
- iha
- during Your appearance in this world
- śuśruma
- so I have heard
- kecit
- some
- ṣaṭ-viṁśatim
- twenty-six
- prāhuḥ
- they say
- apare
- others
- pañca-viṁśatim
- twenty-five
- sapta
- seven
- eke
- some
- nava
- nine
- ṣaṭ
- six
- kecit
- some
- catvāri
- four
- ekādaśa
- eleven
- apare
- still others
- kecit
- some
- saptadaśa
- seventeen
- prāhuḥ
- say
- ṣoḍaśa
- sixteen
- eke
- some
- trayodaśa
- thirteen
- etāvattvam
- such calculations
- hi
- indeed
- saṅkhyānām
- of the different ways of counting the elements
- ṛṣayaḥ
- the sages
- yat-vivakṣayā
- with the intention of expressing what ideas
- gāyanti
- they have declared
- pṛthak
- in various manners
- āyuḥ-man
- O supreme eternal
- idam
- this
- naḥ
- to us
- vaktum
- to explain
- arhasi
- You should please
Uddhava inquired: My dear Lord, O master of the universe, how many different elements of creation have been enumerated by the great sages? I have heard You personally describe a total of twenty-eight — God, the jīva soul, the mahat-tattva, false ego, the five gross elements, the ten senses, the mind, the five subtle objects of perception and the three modes of nature. But some authorities say that there are twenty-six elements, while others cite twenty-five or else seven, nine, six, four or eleven, and even others say that there are seventeen, sixteen or thirteen. What did each of these sages have in mind when he calculated the creative elements in such different ways? O supreme eternal, kindly explain this to me.