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
يا أيها الملك، إن الحواس المادية والعقل تندمجان، مع خصائصهما، في الأنا الكاذبة الراجسية التي نشآ منها؛ وأما الذهن، مع الديفات، فيذوب في الأنا الكاذبة الساتّفية. ثم إن الأنا الكاذبة الكلية، مع جميع صفاتها، تندمج في المَهَت-تَتْوَة.
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.