apam rasam atho tejas

 ta liyante ’tha nirasah

grasate tejaso rupam

 vayus tad-rahitam tada

 

liyate canile tejo

 vayoh kham grasate gunam

sa vai visati kham rajams

 tatas ca nabhaso gunam

 

sabdam grasati bhutadir

 nabhas tam anu liyate

taijasas cendriyany anga

 devan vaikariko gunaih

 

mahan grasaty ahankaram

 gunah sattvadayas ca tam

grasate ’vyakrtam rajan

 gunan kalena coditam

 

na tasya kalavayavaih

 parinamadayo gunah

anady anantam avyaktam

 nityam karanam avyayam

 

Translation: 

 

The element fire then seizes the taste from the element water, which, deprived of its unique quality, taste, merges into fire. Air seizes the form inherent in fire, and then fire, deprived of form, merges into air. The element ether seizes the quality of air, namely touch, and that air enters into ether. Then, O King, false ego in ignorance seizes sound, the quality of ether, after which ether merges into false ego. False ego in the mode of passion takes hold of the senses, and false ego in the mode of goodness absorbs the demigods. Then the total mahat-tattva seizes false ego along with its various functions, and that mahat is seized by the three basic modes of nature — goodness, passion and ignorance. My dear King Pariksit, these modes are further overtaken by the original unmanifest form of nature, impelled by time. That unmanifest nature is not subject to the six kinds of transformation caused by the influence of time. Rather, it has no beginning and no end. It is the unmanifest, eternal and infallible cause of creation.