Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 4 (7.4)
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 4 (7.4)
भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च । अहंकार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा | | ७-४ | |
bhūmirāpo’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhireva cha ahaṁkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛitiraṣhṭadhā
Word-by-word guide:
Line 1:
- भूमिः
(bhumih)— पृथ्वी(earth) - आपः
(apah)— जल(water) - अनलः
(analah)— अग्नि(fire) - वायुः
(vayuh)— वायु(air) - खम्
(kham)— आकाश(space/ether) - मनः
(manah)— मन(mind) - बुद्धिः
(buddhih)— बुद्धि(intellect) - एव
(eva)— ही(indeed) - च
(cha)— और(and)
Line 2:
- अहंकारः
(ahankarah)— अहंकार(ego (I-maker)) - इति
(iti)— इस प्रकार(thus) - इयम्
(iyam)— यह(this) - मे
(me)— मेरी(My) - भिन्ना
(bhinna)— विभाजित(divided) - प्रकृतिः
(prakritih)— प्रकृति(material nature) - अष्टधा
(ashtadha)— आठ प्रकार की(eightfold)
English: Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and personality; this is the eightfold division of My Manifested Nature.
Learnings from Shloka 4:
- Five gross + three subtle elements:: Matter, space, and the inner instruments are all lower nature.
- Ego belongs to prakriti:: The sense of "I" is itself a material function, not the true self.
- Lower does not mean worthless:: This nature is God's own, it is just not the highest.
Gita/Sanskrit Language Quiz
Practice this shloka vocabularyMatch Sanskrit words from shloka 7.4 with their Hindi and English meanings.
Practice vocabulary
The eight elements of lower prakriti map the entire material world: five gross elements (earth, water, fire, air, space) and three inner elements (mind, intellect, ego). This is Krishna's precise map of manifest existence. Knowing the map helps us stop confusing the map for the territory.