Bhagavad Gita BG 7.4
Chapter 7, Verse 4 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च । अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥
bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca ahamkara itiyam me bhinna prakrtir ashtadha
Meaning
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, and ego — this is My lower nature divided eightfold.
Understanding
The eightfold lower Prakriti: five gross elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether/space) + three inner organs (manas — mind, buddhi — intellect, ahamkara — ego). This is bhinna prakriti — divided/differentiated nature, aparA prakriti (lower). Everything in the material universe — from the densest matter to the subtlest inner psychology — is within this eightfold framework. Krishna calls it Mine (me) — it is His lower expression. The universe is not separate from God but the lower form of the Divine.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| भूमिः | bhumih | earth (solid element) |
| अपः | apah | water (liquid element) |
| खम् | kham | ether, space (akasha) |
| अहङ्कारः | ahamkarah | ego, the I-making faculty |
| अष्टधा | ashtadha | eightfold, in eight divisions |
| भूमिः | bhūmiḥ | earth |
| आपः | āpaḥ | water |
| अनलः | analaḥ | fire |
| वायुः | vāyuḥ | air, wind |
| मनः | manaḥ | mind |
| बुद्धिः | buddhiḥ | intellect |
| एव | eva | indeed, verily |
| च | ca | and |
| अहंकारः | ahaṃkāraḥ | ego, sense of I |
| इति | iti | thus |
| इयम् | iyam | this |
| मे | me | My |
| भिन्ना | bhinnā | divided, separated |
| प्रकृतिः | prakṛtiḥ | nature, material energy |
| अष्टधा | aṣṭadhā | eightfold |