प्रकृतिर्गुणसाम्यं वै प्रकृतेर्नात्मनो गुणा: । सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति स्थित्युत्पत्त्यन्तहेतव: ॥ १२ ॥
prakṛtir guṇa-sāmyaṁ vai prakṛter nātmano guṇāḥ sattvaṁ rajas tama iti sthity-utpatty-anta-hetavaḥ
- prakṛtiḥ
- material nature
- guṇa
- of the three modes
- sāmyam
- the original equilibrium
- vai
- indeed
- prakṛteḥ
- of nature
- na ātmanaḥ
- not of the spirit soul
- guṇāḥ
- these modes
- sattvam
- goodness
- rajaḥ
- passion
- tamaḥ
- ignorance
- iti
- thus called
- sthiti
- of the maintenance of universal creation
- utpatti
- its production
- anta
- and its annihilation
- hetavaḥ
- the causes
Nature exists originally as the equilibrium of the three material modes, which pertain only to nature, not to the transcendental spirit soul. These modes — goodness, passion and ignorance — are the effective causes of the creation, maintenance and destruction of this universe.