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XXIV] Kapila's philosophy in the Bhāgavata-purāna 35 own nature (sa eva kșobhako brahman kșobhyaś ca puruşottamah), and this He does through the instrumentality of time. Through His will He penetrates into the prakyti and the puruṣa, and sets off the creative operation of the praksti, though this operation of the will does not involve any notion of ordinary physical activity? Time is thus regarded as the spiritual influence of God, by which the prakrti is moved though He remains unmoved Himself. From prakyti there is the threefold evolution of mahat (sāttvika, rājasa and tāmasa) by a process of differentiation and development of heterogeneity? By the same process the differentiation of mahat into vaikārika, taijasa and bhūtādi takes place as integrated within the mahat as integrated within the prakşti?. Being similarly integrated in the mahat, the bhūtādi is further differentiated into the tanmātric stage and produces first the sound-potential (sabdatanmātra). From the śabda-tanmātra the element of ākāśa was produced from the relevant matter of bhūtādi; this sabda-tanmātra and ākāśa was further integrated in bhūtādi and in this integrated state the element of ākāśa transformed itself into the touchpotential (sparsa-tanmātra); then from this touch-potential air was produced by its transformation (through accretion from bhūtādi) Then in association of the integration of the element of ākāśa and śabda-ianmātra with the touch-potential (sparsa-tanmātra) the element of air produced the heat-light-potential (rūpa-tanmātra) in the medium of the bhūtādi, and from that the element of heatlight was produced by an accretion from bhūtādi. Again in association of the integration of touch-potential, the element of air and the heat-light-potential, the element of heat-light transformed itself into the taste-potential in the medium of the bhūtādi, and in a similar way water was produced by an accretion from the bhūtādi. Again, from the integration of taste-potential, heat-light potential and water, the smell-potential was produced by a transformation of the element of water in the medium of the bhūtādi, and out of this smell-potential in integration with the above the element of earth was produced by an accretion from bhūtādi. Out of the
pradhānam puruşam căpi praviśyātmecchayā harih
kşobhayāmāsa samprāpte sarga-kälevyayāvyayau Ibid. 29. . This view of the evolution of three different kinds of mahat is peculiar to the Vişnu-purāna, which is different from the classical Sămkhya.
8 This second stage is in agreement with the doctrine of Sāmkhya as explained in the Vyāsa-bhāsya on the Yoga-sūtra, 11. 19 of Patañjali.
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