Srimad Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 7, Verse 4
Shloka bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā **(7.4)** Word-by-Word Meaning (Shabdartha) bhūmiḥ - earth, ground; āpaḥ - water; analaḥ - fire; vāyuḥ - air; kham - ether/sky/space; manaḥ - mind; buddhiḥ - intelligence; eva - certainly; ca - and; ahaṅkāraḥ - false ego; iti - thus; iyam - all these; me - My; bhinnā - separated, distinct; prakṛtiḥ - material nature, energy; aṣṭadhā - eightfold. Translation (Anuvad) Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego—these eight elements constitute My separated material energies. Purport (Tatparya) In this shloka , Lord Sri Krishna reveals a fundamental truth. He states that all the elements of this visible world—from the gross to the subtle—are manifestations of His energy. However, the term " bhinnā prakṛti " (separated energy) here is extremely significant. It means that although all these elements are H...