Text 29
tvaṁ vai sisṛkṣur aja utkaṭaṁ prabho
tamo nirodhāya bibharṣy asaṁvṛtaḥ
sthānāya sattvaṁ jagato jagat-pate
kālaḥ pradhānaṁ puruṣo bhavān paraḥ
tvam — You; vai — indeed; sisṛkṣuḥ — desiring to create; ajaḥ — unborn; utkaṭam — prominent; prabho — O master; tamaḥ — the mode of ignorance; nirodhāya — for annihilation; bibharṣi — You assume; asaṁvṛtaḥ — uncovered; sthānāya — for maintenance; sattvam — the mode of goodness; jagataḥ — of the universe; jagat-pate — O Lord of the universe; kālaḥ — time; pradhānam — material nature (in its original, undifferentiated state); puruṣaḥ — the creator (who interacts with material nature); bhavān — You; paraḥ — distinct.
Desiring to create, O unborn master, You increase and then assume the mode of passion. You do likewise with the mode of ignorance when You wish to annihilate the universe and with goodness when You wish to maintain it. Nonetheless, You remain uncovered by these modes. You are time, the pradhāna, and the puruṣa, O Lord of the universe, yet still You are separate and distinct.
The word jagataḥ in the third line of this verse indicates that the functions of creation, maintenance and annihilation are here mentioned in a cosmic context.
The word utkaṭam indicates that when a particular function is being carried out, whether universal creation, maintenance or annihilation, the particular material quality associated with that function becomes predominant.