Text 35
nabhasaḥ śabda-tanmātrāt
kāla-gatyā vikurvataḥ
sparśo ’bhavat tato vāyus
tvak sparśasya ca saṅgrahaḥ
nabhasaḥ — from ether; śabda-tanmātrāt — which evolves from the subtle element sound; kāla-gatyā — under the impulse of time; vikurvataḥ — undergoing transformation; sparśaḥ — the subtle element touch; abhavat — evolved; tataḥ — thence; vāyuḥ — air; tvak — the sense of touch; sparśasya — of touch; ca — and; saṅgrahaḥ — perception.
From ethereal existence, which evolves from sound, the next transformation takes place under the impulse of time, and thus the subtle element touch and thence the air and sense of touch become prominent.
In the course of time, when the subtle forms are transformed into gross forms, they become the objects of touch. The objects of touch and the tactile sense also develop after this evolution in time. Sound is the first sense object to exhibit material existence, and from the perception of sound, touch perception evolves, and from touch perception, the perception of sight. That is the way of the gradual evolution of our perceptive objects.