[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Epic, Poetry, Drama & Narrative](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit) › [The Mahābhārata and its versions](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata) › [The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa) › 12.177.2 # The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 12.177.2 Mahābhārata 12.177.2 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [12.177.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.12.177.2) yadāsṛjatsahasrāṇi bhūtānāṃ sa mahāmatiḥ | pañcānāmeva bhūtatvaṃ kathaṃ samupapadyate || 2 || > "Bharadwaja said, 'When the high-souled Brahman has created thousands of creatures, why is it that only these five elements which he created first, which pervade all the universe and which are great creatures, have come to have the name of creatures applied to them exclusively?' > — Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1883, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa - [Previous: 12.177.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.12.177.1) - [Next: 12.177.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.12.177.3) - [Up: 12.177](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.12.177) ## Translations (1) - [The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa~en-ganguli.12.184.1) — Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1883, English ## Commentaries (1) - [Bhāratabhāvadīpa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa!nilakantha.12.184.2) — Nīlakaṇṭha Caturdhara 1650, Sanskrit ## Other recensions (2) - [Southern recension](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa*southern.12.182.2) — Sanskrit - [Vulgate (Nīlakaṇṭha's text)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa*vulgate.12.184.2) — Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.12.177.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.12.177.2) · Pramāṇa