SB 1.3.10
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 10
- pañcamaḥ kapilo nāma
- siddheśaḥ kāla-viplutam
- provācāsuraye sāṅkhyaṁ
- tattva-grāma-vinirṇayam
SYNONYMS
pañcamaḥ — the fifth one; kapilaḥ — Kapila; nāma — of the name; siddheśaḥ — the foremost amongst the perfect; kāla — time; viplutam — lost; provāca — said; āsuraye — unto the brāhmaṇa named Āsuri; sāṅkhyam — metaphysics; tattva-grāma — the sum total of the creative elements; vinirṇayam — exposition.
TRANSLATION
The fifth incarnation, named Lord Kapila, is foremost among perfected beings. He gave an exposition of the creative elements and metaphysics to Āsuri Brāhmaṇa, for in course of time this knowledge had been lost.
PURPORT
The sum total of the creative elements is twenty-four in all. Each and every one of them is explicitly explained in the system of Sāṅkhya philosophy. Sāṅkhya philosophy is generally called metaphysics by the European scholars. The etymological meaning of sāṅkhya is "that which explains very lucidly by analysis of the material elements." This was done for the first time by Lord Kapila, who is said herein to be the fifth in the line of incarnations.