eta lañā sṛje puruṣa sakala saṁsāra
koṭi aṁśa-millions of parts and parcels; koṭi śakti-millions and millions of energies; koṭi avatāra-millions upon millions of incarnations; eta-all this; lañā-taking; sṛje-creates; puruṣa-the original person, Mahā-Viṣṇu; sakala saṁsāra-all the material world.
Mahā-Viṣṇu creates the entire material world, with millions of His parts, energies and incarnations. māyā -the external energy; yaiche -as; dui aṁśa -two parts; nimitta -the cause; upādāna -the ingredients; māyā -the material energy; nimitta-hetu -original cause; upādāna -ingredients; pradhāna -immediate cause; puruṣa -the person Lord Viṣṇu; īśvara -the Supreme Personality of Godhead; aiche -in that way; dvi-mūrti ha-iyā -taking two forms; viśva-sṛṣṭi kare -creates this material world; nimitta -the original cause; upādāna -the material cause; lañā -with. Just as the external energy consists of two parts-the efficient cause [nimitta] and the material cause [upādāna], māyā being the efficient cause and pradhāna the material cause-so Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, assumes two forms to create the material world with the efficient and material causes.
Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, in his commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra, has tried to nullify this conclusion because he thinks that discrediting these so-called causes of the cosmic manifestation will nullify the entire Sāṅkhya philosophy. Materialistic philosophers accept matter to be the material and efficient cause of creation; for them, matter is the cause of every type of manifestation. Generally they give the example of a waterpot and clay. Clay is the cause of the waterpot, but the clay can be found as both cause and effect. The waterpot is the effect and clay itself is the cause, but clay is visible everywhere. A tree is matter, but a tree produces fruit. Water is matter, but water flows. In this way, say the Sāṅkhyites, matter is the cause of movements and production. As such, matter can be considered the material and efficient cause of everything in the cosmic manifestation. Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana has therefore enunciated the nature of pradhāna as follows: