Uddhava inquired: O Lord! O master of the universe! How many different elements of creation have been enumerated by the great sages? I have heard you personally describe a total of twenty-eight—God, the jīva, the mahat-tattva, false ego, the five gross elements, the ten senses, the mind, the five subtle objects of perception and the three modes of nature. But some authorities say that there are twenty-six elements, while others cite twenty-five or else seven, nine, six, four or eleven, and even others say that there are seventeen, sixteen or thirteen elements. What did the sages have in mind when they calculated the creative elements in such different ways? O Lord with an eternal form! Kindly explain this to me. In the Twenty-second Chapter, the elements are enumerated, with clarification of any contrary explanations, and questions about prakṛti and the jīva, and about birth and death, are explained. Having clearly understood the meaning of karma-kāṇḍa, Uddhava now begins to ask about the meaning of jñāna-kāṇḍa. He first asks for a conclusion to the various statements made by different sages. Which opinions are correct among those of many sages who each claim “This is what I think.” How many elements do they list? The nine elements are the Lord, the jīva, mahat-tattva, ahaṅkāra and the five gross elements. There are ten senses and the mind. There are five tan-mātras and three guṇas. You have mentioned this total of twenty-eight items. I have heard of them. The three guṇas means prakṛti. He mentions three guṇas because it has been said that only through the three modes of prakṛti arise the two types of mahat-tattva (sattva gives rise to mahat-tattva and rajas gives rise to sūtra) and ahaṅkāra (tamas). These do not arise from prakṛti in equilibrium. I have understood your intention. You should explain with what intention others proclaim a variety of opinions about the number of elements. O Lord, who lives for all time with an eternal form! I should ask you since you alone know the intentions of all the sages who have a beginning, middle and end.