The element fire then swallows up the taste from the element water, which, deprived of its unique quality, taste, merges into fire. Air swallows up the form inherent in fire, and then fire, deprived of form, merges into air. The element ether swallows up the quality of air, namely touch, and that air enters into ether. Then, O King, false ego in ignorance swallows up sound, the quality of ether, after which ether also merges into false ego in ignorance. False ego in passion consumes of the senses, and false ego in goodness absorbs the devatās. Then the total mahat-tattva consumes false ego along with its various functions, and that mahat-tattva is consumed by the three basic modes of nature—goodness, passion and ignorance. My dear King Parīkṣit, these modes are further swallowed up by prakṛti, impelled by time. That prakṛti is not subject to the six kinds of transformation caused by the influence of time. Rather, it has no birth, no death, no existence, no increase, no change, and no decrease. It is the cause of the universe. The verb grasati should be added to the first line of verse 15. Bhūtādiḥ means ahaṅkāra in tamas. Ahaṅkāra in rajas swallows up the senses. Mahat-tattva swallows up ahaṅkāra along with its transformation of guṇas (ahaṅkāra in the modes of tamas, rajas and sattva). The guṇas swallow up mahat-tattva (tam). Avyākṛtam means pradhāna or prakṛti. Prakṛti is not subject to the transformation and other factors produced by the limbs of time, by days and nights. Pariṇāma or development is the fourth change (vikāra) among six which are not present in prakṛti. The first is birth. But prakrṭi has no beginning (anādi). It has no end (anantam). Avyaktam means that it does not show itself as existing for some time. Nityam means that prakṛti is always in one form. It does not increase or grow. It does not decline (avyayam). Thus the six transformations are absent in prakṛti. [Note: The six transformations are janma, astitva, vṛrdhi, pariṇāma, apakṣaya, and mṛtyu. jāyate asti vardhate vipariṇamate apakṣīyate naśyaty]