- puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho 'pi hi
- bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān
- kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya
- sad-asad-yoni-janmasu
- (BG 13.22)
- upadraṣṭānumantā ca
- bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ
- paramātmeti cāpy ukto
- dehe 'smin puruṣaḥ paraḥ
- (BG 13.23)
- ya evaṁ vetti puruṣaṁ
- prakṛtiṁ ca guṇaiḥ saha
- sarvathā vartamāno 'pi
- na sa bhūyo 'bhijāyate
- (BG 13.24)
Puruṣa. Puruṣa means the enjoyer. Puruṣa. And prakṛti means enjoyed. For enjoyment two things are required: one enjoyer, and the other enjoyed. When we eat something, the eater is the enjoyer and the foodstuff is enjoyed. So here in this material world the living entity, although by nature it is to be enjoyed, but out of ignorance the enjoyed is claiming to be enjoyer. Just like from practical example, the man and woman, the man is supposed to be the enjoyer and the woman is supposed to be the enjoyed. So enjoyed means prakṛti, or female, and enjoyer means the puruṣa, or the male.
So actually, we all living entities, we are prakṛti—we are not puruṣa. That is stated in the Seventh Chapter.
- apareyam itas tv
- viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām
- jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
- yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat
- (BG 7.5)
Kṛṣṇa, after analyzing the material elements—earth, water, fire, air, mind, intelligence, ego—he concluded that, "These eight kinds of prakṛti, energy, they are My separated energy. But above this energy, there is another, superior energy." Apareyam. Aparā means inferior. This matter is inferior, and the living entity, on account of having life, it is superior energy. Because the living entities, they are trying to exploit the resources of this material nature. That is going on all over the world. A country is supposed to be very rich which has become able to exploit the material resources. So this is the . . . going on.