Chapter VII · Śloka 4
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।
अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥
अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥
bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṃ mano buddhir eva ca |
ahaṅkāra itīyaṃ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā ||
ahaṅkāra itīyaṃ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā ||
Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect, and ego-sense — these are the eightfold division of My lower nature (aparā prakṛti).
The eight constituents of aparā prakṛti span the gross elements (pañca-bhūta) and the subtle instruments of cognition and individuation. Together they describe the entire material creation — from the subtlest sense of 'I' to the densest element — as an expression of the Lord's lower power.