भविष्यद्रूपसङ्कल्पनामाऽसौ कल्पनात्मकः । सङ्कल्पात्मा गुणैर्गन्धतन्मात्रत्वं प्रपश्यति ॥ २४ ॥
bhaviṣyadrūpasaṅkalpanāmā’sau kalpanātmakaḥ | saṅkalpātmā guṇairgandhatanmātratvaṁ prapaśyati || 24 ||
- Another reading: सङ्कल्पात्मगुणैर्गन्धतन्मात्रत्वं (saṅkalpātmaguṇairgandhatanmātratvaṁ) for सङ्कल्पात्मा गुणैर्गन्धतन्मात्रत्वं
Translation
He, imagining the form to come, of the nature of imagining, whose self is resolve, by his qualities sees himself as the subtle element of smell.
Word by word
- bhaviṣyad
- (bhaviṣyat) to come
- rūpa
- the form
- saṅkalpa
- imagining
- nāmā
- named
- asau
- he
- kalpanā
- of imagining
- ātmakaḥ
- of the nature
- saṅkalpātmā
- whose self is resolve
- guṇair
- (guṇaiḥ) by his qualities
- gandha
- of smell
- tanmātratvaṁ
- the subtle element
- prapaśyati
- sees himself as
Meaning
The commentary introduces the creation of the earth. The Supreme Self that has reached the state of water, being a resolve "I am the earth itself", has the nature of resolving the earth whose form is to come, and by his own qualities, which are resolve, sees himself as the smell-element; that is, by his resolving quality "let me be the smell-element" he becomes it. Another commentary: by the qualities of his own resolve he sees himself as the smell-element. "Sees", prapaśyati: the element is not made but looked into being. Smell is the quality of earth, the last and densest of the five.