Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 15
Nimi Questions the Yogendras: Māyā, Cosmic Dissolution, Guru-Śaraṇāgati, Bhakti, and Deity Worship
इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धि: सह वैकारिकैर्नृप । प्रविशन्ति ह्यहङ्कारं स्वगुणैरहमात्मनि ॥ १५ ॥
indriyāṇi mano buddhiḥ saha vaikārikair nṛpa praviśanti hy ahaṅkāraṁ sva-guṇair aham ātmani
My dear King, the material senses and intelligence merge into false ego in the mode of passion, from which they arose; and the mind, along with the demigods, merges into false ego in the mode of goodness. Then the total false ego, along with all of its qualities, merges into the mahat-tattva.
FAQs
This verse explains that the senses, mind, and intelligence ultimately rest in ahaṅkāra—the “I”-sense—because it is the organizing principle that claims experiences as “mine,” carrying the modes’ qualities.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī is instructing Parīkṣit in a Sāṅkhya-style description of how the material faculties arise and dissolve, helping him detach from bodily identification and focus on devotion to Bhagavān.
Notice how thoughts, choices, and sense-impulses gather around the feeling of “I” and “mine”; then redirect that identity toward service—seeing oneself as Kṛṣṇa’s servant—so the same faculties support bhakti rather than ego.