148
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 3]
examplary manner to teach us. The Lord is very kind to the forgetful souls. He therefore comes Himself and leaves behind necessary instructions and also sends His good sons as representatives to call all the conditioned souls back to Godhead. Recently, within the memory of everyone, Lord Caitanya also appeared for the same purpose: to show special favor to fallen souls of this age of iron industry. The incarnation of Nārāyaṇa is worshiped still at Badarīnārāyaṇa, on the range of the Himalayas.
TEXT 10
पञ्चमः कपिलो नाम सिद्धेशः कालविष्ठुतम् । प्रोवाचासुरये सांख्यं तत्त्वग्रामविनिर्णयम् ॥१०॥
pañcamaḥ kapilo nāma siddheśaḥ kāla-viplutam provācāsuraye sāṅkhyam tattva-grāma-vinirṇayam
pañcamaḥ—the fifth one; kapilaḥ—Kapila; nāma—of the name; siddheśaḥ—the foremost amongst the perfect; kāla—time; viplutam—lost; provāca—said; āsuraye—unto the brāhmaṇa named Āsuri; sāṅkhyam—metaphysics; tattva-grāma—the sum total of the creative elements; vinirṇayam—exposition.
TRANSLATION
The fifth incarnation, named Lord Kapila, is foremost among perfected beings. He gave an exposition of the creative elements and metaphysics to Āsuri Brāhmaṇa, for in course of time this knowledge had been lost.
PURPORT
The sum total of the creative elements is twenty-four in all. Each and every one of them are explicitly explained in the system of Sāṅkhya philosophy. Sāṅkhya philosophy is generally called metaphysics by the European scholars. The etymological meaning of  sāṅkhya  is that which explains very lucidly by analysis of the material elements. This was done for the first time by Lord Kapila, who is said herein to be the fifth in the line of incarnations.
TEXT 11
षष्ठम् अत्रेरपत्यत्वं वृतः प्राप्तोऽनसूयया । आन्वीक्षिकीपत्तकीय प्रह्लादादिभ्य ऊचिवान् ॥११॥