Time is said to be the Lord’s power, by which fear arises in the jīva, having contacted prakrṭi and being bewildered by ego.

kālam eke yato bhayam

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhasya

kartuḥ prakṛtim īyuṣaḥ

Time is said to be the Lord’s power, by which fear arises in the jīva, having contacted prakrṭi and being bewildered by ego.

The first description of time is given. Time is called the power of the Supreme Lord (pauraṣam) from which the jīva’s (kartuḥ) fears arise.  Time is described as the instigator of the jīva.

|| 3.26.17 ||

prakṛter guṇa-sāmyasya

nirviśeṣasya mānavi

ceṣṭā yataḥ sa bhagavān

kāla ity upalakṣitaḥ

O Devahūti! Powerful time is described as that which produces agitation in prakṛti, which was previously in a state of equilibrium of the guṇas, without distinctions.

In this verse, time is described as the instigator of prakṛti.

 

|| 3.26.18 ||

antaḥ puruṣa-rūpeṇa

kāla-rūpeṇa yo bahiḥ

samanvety eṣa sattvānāṁ

bhagavān ātma-māyayā

He who, by his own energy, exists internally as antaryāmī and externally as time for all beings, is the Supreme Lord.

Internally the Lord exists without change, continuously (samanveti) as the controller, in the form of antaryāmī. Externally, he exists as the controller in the form of time. Sattvānām means “of the living beings.” In this way there are twenty-four products of prakṛti. Adding time, the jīva, prakṛti and the Lord to this, there are twenty-eight items.

 

|| 3.26.19 ||

daivāt kṣubhita-dharmiṇyāṁ

svasyāṁ yonau paraḥ pumān

ādhatta vīryaṁ sāsūta

mahat-tattvaṁ hiraṇmayam

The Supreme Lord placed the jīvas into the womb of prakṛti, whose guṇas were agitated by time. Prakṛti gave birth to the brilliant mahat-tattva.

Now, in describing the characteristics of the elements, first the primordial quality, previous to the appearance of citta, is described. The Lord delivered the jīva into the manifest abode of the guṇas agitated by time. Prakṛti gave birth to the mahat-tattva. Hiraṇmayam means that it had great brilliance.

 

|| 3.26.20 ||