Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7, Verse 4

Chapter 7 – Jnana Vijnana Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।
अहंकार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥

Transliteration

bhūmirāpo.analo vāyuḥ khaṃ mano buddhireva ca .
ahaṃkāra itīyaṃ me bhinnā prakṛtiraṣṭadhā ॥

Meaning

Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and ego — thus is My nature divided eightfold.

Word meanings

भूमिः – earth
आपः – water
अनलः – fire
वायुः – air
खम् – space, ether
मनः – mind
बुद्धिः – intellect
एव – indeed
च – and
अहंकारः – ego, the sense of I
इति – thus
इयम् – this
मे – My
भिन्ना – divided
प्रकृतिः – nature, prakriti
अष्टधा – eightfold

Anvaya (word order)

भूमिः आपः अनलः वायुः खं मनः बुद्धिः एव च अहंकारः इति इयं मे अष्टधा भिन्ना प्रकृतिः ।

Explanation

Krishna now begins to describe His complete nature. First he describes the power from which the entire visible material world is formed. He calls it 'My prakriti', My nature, and it is divided eightfold.

The first five are the great elements — earth, water, fire, air and space. They are the foundation of the gross world; our bodies, mountains, rivers and stars are all made of them. The next three are subtle principles — mind, intellect and ego. The mind deliberates and doubts, the intellect decides, and the ego produces the sense of 'I' and 'mine'. It is worth noticing that Krishna counts even mind, intellect and ego as part of material nature — they are not the Self but instruments of the Self.

Shankara explains the verse according to the order of Sankhya philosophy: by earth and the other elements their subtle essences are meant; by mind, the ego from which they arise; by intellect, the cosmic principle mahat; and by ego, the unmanifest root nature associated with ignorance. Thus the eight summarise the whole course of material evolution.

The most important word is me — 'My'. This nature is not independent of the Lord; it is His power, as the rays of the sun belong to the sun. This means the material world too is sacred, for it is a form of the Lord's own power. In the next verse Krishna describes His higher nature, beyond this one.

Context

In 7.1–3 Krishna promised knowledge of His complete nature. That knowledge begins here — first the eight elements of the lower nature (apara prakriti). The next verse (7.5) describes the higher nature (para prakriti), the principle of the living soul.

Life lesson

Your body, mind and intellect are instruments of nature, not your very self. When the mind is low or the intellect confused, remember that you are their witness. This keeps you steady even amid difficult emotions.

Key terms

Apara prakriti: the Lord's lower, material nature
Pancha mahabhuta: the five great elements — earth, water, fire, air, space
Ahankara: the principle producing the sense of I and mine
Ashtadha: divided eightfold