Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 11.22.1-3
Who is speaking and story frame
श्रीउद्धव उवाच
कति तत्त्वानि विश्वेश सङ्ख्यातान्यृषिभि: प्रभो ।
नवैकादश पञ्च त्रीण्यात्थ त्वमिह शुश्रुम ॥ १ ॥
केचित् षड्विंशतिं प्राहुरपरे पञ्चविंशतिम् ।
सप्तैके नव षट् केचिच्चत्वार्येकादशापरे ।
केचित् सप्तदश प्राहु: षोडशैके त्रयोदश ॥ २ ॥
एतावत्त्वं हि सङ्ख्यानामृषयो यद्विवक्षया ।
गायन्ति पृथगायुष्मन्निदं नो वक्तुमर्हसि ॥ ३ ॥
śrī-uddhava uvāca
kati tattvāni viśveśa
saṅkhyātāny ṛṣibhiḥ prabho
navaikādaśa pañca trīṇy
āttha tvam iha śuśruma
kecit ṣaḍ-viṁśatiṁ prāhur
apare pañca-viṁśatiṁ
saptaike nava ṣaṭ kecic
catvāry ekādaśāpare
kecit saptadaśa prāhuḥ
ṣoḍaśaike trayodaśa
etāvattvaṁ hi saṅkhyānām
ṛṣayo yad-vivakṣayā
gāyanti pṛthag āyuṣmann
idaṁ no vaktum arhasi
Uddhava inquired: My dear Lord, O master of the universe, how many different elements of creation have been enumerated by the great sages? I have heard You personally describe a total of twenty-eight — God, the jīva soul, the mahat-tattva, false ego, the five gross elements, the ten senses, the mind, the five subtle objects of perception and the three modes of nature. But some authorities say that there are twenty-six elements, while others cite twenty-five or else seven, nine, six, four or eleven, and even others say that there are seventeen, sixteen or thirteen. What did each of these sages have in mind when he calculated the creative elements in such different ways? O supreme eternal, kindly explain this to me.
Read the purport on Vedabase.ioFrom Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.