Shloka
भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च |
अहंकार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ||७-४||Transliteration
bhūmirāpo.analo vāyuḥ khaṃ mano buddhireva ca .
ahaṃkāra itīyaṃ me bhinnā prakṛtiraṣṭadhā ||7-4||Translations
Dr.S.Sankaranarayan
7.4. My nature is divided eightfold, such as the Earth, the Water, the Fire, the Wind, the Ether, the Mind, and also the Intellect and the Ego;
Shri Purohit Swami
7.4 Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and personality; this is the eightfold division of My Manifested Nature.
Sri Abhinav Gupta
7.4 See Comment under 7.5
Sri Ramanuja
7.4 Know that Prakrti, the material cause of this universe, which consists of endless varieties of objects and means of enjoyment and places of enjoyment, is divided into eightfold substances - earth, water, fire, air and ether, having smell, taste etc., as their attributes, and Manas along with kindred sense organs and the categories Mahat and ego-sense - all belonging to Me.
Sri Shankaracharya
7.4 Iyam, this; prakrtih, Prakrti, [Prakrti here does not mean the Pradhana of the Sankhyas.] the divine power called Maya; me, of Mine, as described; bhinna, is divided; astadha, eight-forl; iti, thus: bhumih, earth-not the gross earth but the subtle element called earth, this being understood from the statement, ‘Prakrti (of Mine) is divided eight-fold’. Similarly, the subtle elements alone are referred to even by the words water etc. Apah, water; analah, fire; vayuh, air; kham, space; manah, mind. By ‘mind’ is meant its source, egoism. By buddhih, intellect, is meant the principle called mahat [Mahat means Hiranyagarbha, or Cosmic Intelligence.] which is the source of egoism. By ahankarah, egoism, is meant the Unmanifest, associated [Associated, i.e. of the nature of.] with (Cosmic) ignorance. As food mixed with position is called poison, similarly the Unmainfest, which is the primordial Cause, is called egoism since it is imbued with the impressions resulting from egoism; and egoism is the impelling force (of all). It is indeed seen in the world that egoism is the impelling cause behind all endeavour.
Swami Adidevananda
7.4 Earth, water, fire, air, ether, Manas, Buddhi and ego-sense - thus My Prakrti is divided eightfold.
Swami Gambirananda
7.4 This Prakrti of Mine is divided eight-fold thus: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and also egoism.
Swami Sivananda
7.4 Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and egoism thus is My Nature divided eightfold.
Commentaries
Swami Sivananda
7.4 भूमिः earth? आपः water? अनलः fire? वायुः air? खम् ether? मनः mind? बुद्धिः intellect? एव even? च and? अहङ्कारः egoism? इति thus? इयम् this? मे My? भिन्ना divided? प्रकृतिः Nature? अष्टधा eightfold.Commentary This eightfold Nature constitutes the inferior Nature or Apara Prakriti. The five gross elements are formed out of the Tanmatras or rootelements through the process of Pancikarana or fivefold mixing. Tanmatras are the subtle rootelements. In this verse? earth? water? etc.? represent the subtle or rudimentary elements out of which the five gross elements are formed.Mind stands here for its cause Ahamkara intellect for its cause the Mahat Ahamkara for the Avyaktam or the unmanifested (MulaPrakriti) united with Avidya which is conjoined with all kinds of Vasanas or latent tendencies. As Ahamkara (Iness) is the cause for all the actions of every individual and as Ahamkara is the most vital principle in man on which all the other Tattvas or principles depend? the Avyaktam combined with the Ahamkara is itself called here Ahamkara? just as food which is mixed with poison is itself called poison.