Text 7
snehādhiṣṭhāna-varty-agni-
saṁyogo yāvad īyate
tāvad dīpasya dīpatvam
evaṁ deha-kṛto bhavaḥ
rajaḥ-sattva-tamo-vṛttyā
jāyate ’tha vinaśyati
sneha — of the oil; adhiṣṭhāna — the vessel; varti — the wick; agni — and the fire; saṁyogaḥ — the combination; yāvat — to which extent; īyate — is seen; tāvat — to that extent; dīpasya — of the lamp; dīpatvam — the status of functioning as a lamp; evam — similarly; deha-kṛtaḥ — due to the material body; bhavaḥ — material existence; rajaḥ-sattva-tamaḥ — of the modes of passion, goodness and ignorance; vṛttyā — by the action; jāyate — arises; atha — and; vinaśyati — is destroyed.
A lamp functions as such only by the combination of its fuel, vessel, wick and fire. Similarly, material life, based on the soul’s identification with the body, is developed and destroyed by the workings of material goodness, passion and ignorance, which are the constituent elements of the body.