सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति त्रिवृदेकमादौ सूत्रं महानहमिति प्रवदन्ति जीवम् । ज्ञानक्रियार्थफलरूपतयोरुशक्ति ब्रह्मैव भाति सदसच्च तयो: परं यत् ॥ ३७ ॥
sattvaṁ rajas tama iti tri-vṛd ekam ādau sūtraṁ mahān aham iti pravadanti jīvam jñāna-kriyārtha-phala-rūpatayoru-śakti brahmaiva bhāti sad asac ca tayoḥ paraṁ yat
- sattvam
- goodness
- rajaḥ
- passion
- tamaḥ
- and ignorance
- iti
- thus known
- tri-vṛt
- threefold
- ekam
- one
- ādau
- in the beginning, before creation
- sūtram
- the power to act
- mahān
- the power of consciousness
- aham
- and the false ego
- iti
- thus
- pravadanti
- is called
- jīvam
- (false ego, which covers) the living entity
- jñāna
- the demigods as the embodiment of knowledge
- kriyā
- the senses
- artha
- sense objects
- phala
- and fruitive results such as happiness and distress
- rūpatayā
- assuming the forms
- uru-śakti
- possessing great varieties of energy
- brahma eva
- the Supreme alone
- bhāti
- is manifest
- sat asat ca
- as both gross objects and their subtle causes
- tayoḥ
- both
- param
- beyond
- yat
- which is
Originally one, the Absolute, Brahman, comes to be known as threefold, manifesting itself as the three modes of material nature — goodness, passion and ignorance. Brahman further expands its potency, and thus the power to act and the power of consciousness become manifest, along with the false ego, which covers the identity of the conditioned living being. Thus, by the expansion of the multipotencies of the Absolute, the demigods, as the embodiment of knowledge, become manifest, along with the material senses, their objects, and the results of material activity, namely happiness and distress. In this way the manifestation of the material world takes place as the subtle cause and as the material effect visible in the appearance of gross material objects. Brahman, which is the source of all subtle and gross manifestations, is simultaneously transcendental to them, being absolute.