Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 10
Jaḍa Bharata Instructs King Rahūgaṇa: The Mind as Bondage and the Two Kṣetrajñas
गन्धाकृतिस्पर्शरसश्रवांसि विसर्गरत्यर्त्यभिजल्पशिल्पा: । एकादशं स्वीकरणं ममेति शय्यामहं द्वादशमेक आहु: ॥ १० ॥
gandhākṛti-sparśa-rasa-śravāṁsi visarga-raty-arty-abhijalpa-śilpāḥ ekādaśaṁ svīkaraṇaṁ mameti śayyām ahaṁ dvādaśam eka āhuḥ
Sound, touch, form, taste and smell are the objects of the five knowledge-acquiring senses. Speech, touch, movement, evacuation and sexual intercourse are the objects of the working senses. Besides this, there is another conception by which one thinks, “This is my body, this is my society, this is my family, this is my nation,” and so forth. This eleventh function of the mind is called the false ego. According to some philosophers, this is the twelfth function, and its field of activity is the body.
There are different objects for the eleven items. Through the nose we can smell, by the eyes we can see, by the ears we can hear, and in this way we gather knowledge. Similarly, there are the karmendriyas, the working senses — the hands, legs, genitals, rectum, mouth and so forth. When the false ego expands, it makes one think, “This is my body, family, society, country,” etc.
FAQs
This verse identifies ‘mine’ and ‘I’ as the core of false bodily identification—the twelfth element that binds the living being to material life.
Rahugana was proud and bodily-minded; Jada Bharata instructed him to see that bondage arises from misidentifying the self with the body and its functions.
Notice how ‘I am this’ and ‘this is mine’ drive anxiety and conflict; cultivate the witness-consciousness of the soul and practice devotion to reduce possessiveness and ego.