________________
GITĀ, TRANSLATION & COMMENTARY, CH. VII 1015.
Parameśvara, of which Gross Matter (jada prakrti) is an inferior manifestation, and the 'Jiva' or 'Purusa' (that is, Spirit) is the superior one (See the 4th and 5th stanzas); and it further states that all moveable and immoveable creation is created out of these two (Gi. 13. 26). Out of these, the superior Prakrti in the form of Jiva, considered as the Ātman (ksetrajña), has been fully considered later on in the Chapter XIII. Then remains Gross Matter (jada praksti). The Gītā does not look upon this as independent, but considers that the entire creation is created out of this. Gross Matter, under the supervision of the Parameśvara (Gi. 9. 10). Nevertheless, though the Gitā does not look upon Prakrti as independent, yet, the divisions of Prakrti according to the Sāmkhya system have been accepted with minor differences by the Gītā (GI. Ra. Chapter VIII, p. 244-250); and the Gitā also accepts the Sámkhya theory of gunotkarsa regarding the subsequent creation of all things out of Prakrti (Gi. Ra. Ch. IX, p. 334-335), after Gross Matter has come into existence out of the Parameśvara (Gi. 7. 14) as a result of Māyā. According to the Samkhyas, Prakrti and Purusa make up 25 Elements; out of these, Prakrti gives rise to 23 Elements. Out of these twenty-three, the five Gross Elements, the ten senses, and the Mind, these 16, arise out of the remaining seven, that is, are Evolutes (vrkāra) of those seven. Therefore, in considering the Fundamental Elements, these sixteen elements are left out of account; and when that is done, there remain only seven Elements as Fundamental Elements, namely, the Reason (mahān), Individuation (ahamkara) and the five Fine Elements (tanmātra). These seven have been named 'praksti-vikrtı' in the Samkhya system, and these seven prakrta-vikrti and the Fundamental Prakrti, now make up what is known as the 'Eight-fold Prakrti'; and this known as the 'astadhū prakrtı' (that is, Eight-fold Prakrti) in the Mahabharata (San. 310. 10-15). But the Gitā has not considered it proper to place the original Prakrti in the same grade as the seven prakrti-vikrtı; because, if that is done, the distinction that there is one Fundamental Praksti and that the remaining seven are its
