Bhagavad-gītā 13.6
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महाभूतान्यहङ्कारो बुद्धिरव्यक्तमेव च।इन्द्रियाणि दशैकं च पञ्च चेन्द्रियगोचराः।।13.6।।
mahā-bhūtāny ahankāro buddhir avyaktam eva cha indriyāṇi daśhaikaṁ cha pañcha chendriya-gocharāḥ
The five great fundamentals:earth, fire, air, water, and ether:personality, intellect, the mysterious life force, the ten organs of perception and action, the mind, and the five domains of sensation:
English rendering by Shri Purohit Swami. Each source voice remains named.

Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| mahā-bhūtāni | the (five) great elements |
| ahankāraḥ | the ego |
| buddhiḥ | the intellect |
| avyaktam | the unmanifested primordial matter |
| eva | indeed |
| cha | and |
| indriyāṇi | the senses |
| daśha-ekam | eleven |
| cha | and |
| pañcha | five |
| cha | and |
| indriya-go-charāḥ | the (five) objects of the senses |
The field and its modifications are described in this verse. The twentyfour principles of the Sankhya school of philosophy are mentioned here.
Attributed explanatory witness: Swami Sivananda. Chapter lens: Distinguish field, individual knower, Supreme knower, knowledge and knowable while noting this edition’s 35-verse numbering.
Three named reading witnesses
Śaṅkara edition witness
Swami GambiranandaThe great elements, egoism, intellect, and the Unmanifest itself; the ten organs and the one, and the five objects of the senses;
Rāmānuja edition witness
Swami AdidevanandaThe great elements, the Ahankara, the Buddhi, the Avyakta, the ten senses, and the one, in addition, the five objects of the senses;
Sivananda commentary witness
Swami SivanandaThe field and its modifications are described in this verse. The twentyfour principles of the Sankhya school of philosophy are mentioned here.
These are concise, attributed reading witnesses from identified editions. They are presented for comparison and are not merged into one anonymous interpretation.
Meaning map
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- 1
The five great fundamentals
- 2
earth, fire, air, water
- 3
personality, intellect, the mysterious life force, the ten organs of perception and action, the mind

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