Devanagari
ततोऽभवन् महत्तत्त्वमव्यक्तात्कालचोदितात् ।
विज्ञानात्मात्मदेहस्थं विश्वं व्यञ्जंस्तमोनुद: ॥ २७ ॥
Verse text
tato ’bhavan mahat-tattvam
avyaktāt kāla-coditāt
vijṣānātmātma-deha-sthaṁ
viśvaṁ vyaṣjaṁs tamo-nudaḥ
Synonyms
tataḥ
—
thereafter
;
abhavat
—
came into existence
;
mahat
—
supreme
;
tattvam
—
sum total
;
avyaktāt
—
from the unmanifested
;
kāla
—
coditāt — by the interaction of time
;
vijṣāna
—
ātmā — unalloyed goodness
;
ātma
—
deha — stham — situated on the bodily self
;
viśvam
—
complete universes
;
vyaṣjan
—
manifesting
;
tamaḥ
—
nudaḥ — the supreme light .
Translation
Thereafter, influenced by the interactions of eternal time, the supreme sum total of matter, called the mahat-tattva, became manifested, and in this mahat-tattva the unalloyed goodness, the Supreme Lord, sowed the seeds of universal manifestation out of His own body.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Impelled by time, from the invisible prakṛti arose mahat-tattva, composed of knowledge, in sattva-guṇa. This manifests the universe situated within itself, and destroys ignorance.
Among the twenty-three divisions of māyā which will appear by the influence of cause and effect, caused by the addition of consciousness through the power of the Lord, mahat-tattva first appears. From māyā (avyaktāt), impelled by time, undergoing transformation necessary for creation by the influence of time, mahat-tattva arose. Mahān (without the word tattva) is then described: it is composed of knowledge (vijṣānātmā), by predominance of sattva. It is the form of excellent knowledge. It is exists in partial form as citta in all bodies. It reveals (vyaṣjayan) the universe situated in its body, just as a seed sprouts and then manifests as a tree. It removes darkness of ignorance caused by pralaya. It should be understood (though not mentioned here) that it then becomes sūtra-tattva, differentiated from mahat-tattva by the kriya-śakti, with a predominance of rajas.
Purport
In due course of time, the impregnated material energy was manifested first as the total material ingredients. Everything takes its own time to fructify, and therefore the word
kāla-coditāt,
“influenced by time,” is used herein. The
mahat-tattva
is the total consciousness because a portion of it is represented in everyone as the intellect. The
mahat-tattva
is directly connected with the supreme consciousness of the Supreme Being, but still it appears as matter. The
mahat-tattva,
or shadow of pure consciousness, is the germinating place of all creation. It is pure goodness with the slight addition of the material mode of passion, and therefore activity is generated from this point.