Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 26
Sāṅkhya Enumeration of Tattvas, Distinction of Puruṣa–Prakṛti, and the Mechanics of Birth and Death
श्रीउद्धव उवाच प्रकृति: पुरुषश्चोभौ यद्यप्यात्मविलक्षणौ । अन्योन्यापाश्रयात् कृष्ण दृश्यते न भिदा तयो: । प्रकृतौ लक्ष्यते ह्यात्मा प्रकृतिश्च तथात्मनि ॥ २६ ॥
śrī-uddhava uvāca prakṛtiḥ puruṣaś cobhau yady apy ātma-vilakṣaṇau anyonyāpāśrayāt kṛṣṇa dṛśyate na bhidā tayoḥ prakṛtau lakṣyate hy ātmā prakṛtiś ca tathātmani
Śrī Uddhava fragte: O Kṛṣṇa, obwohl prakṛti und puruṣa (das Lebewesen) ihrem Wesen nach verschieden sind, scheint doch kein Unterschied zu bestehen, weil man sie einander innewohnend sieht. So erscheint die Seele in der Natur und die Natur in der Seele.
Śrī Uddhava here expresses the doubt that arises in the heart of an ordinary conditioned soul. Although the Vedic scriptures declare that the material body is a temporary fabrication of the material modes of nature, the conscious living entity within the body is actually an eternal spirit soul. In Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa has declared the material elements constituting the body to be His separated, inferior energy, whereas the living entity is the superior, conscious energy of the Lord. Still, in conditioned life the material body and conditioned soul appear inseparable and thus nondifferent. Because the living entity enters the womb of a mother and gradually comes out in a developed body, the soul appears to have entered deeply within material nature. Similarly, by the soul’s identification with the material body, the body appears to enter deeply within the consciousness of the soul. What is more, the body cannot exist without the presence of the soul. By this apparent mutual dependence, the difference between the body and soul is obscured. Śrī Uddhava therefore questions the Lord in order to clarify this issue.
FAQs
This verse explains that although prakṛti (matter) and puruṣa (the experiencer) are distinct, their mutual dependence makes them seem non-different—so the self appears embedded in matter and matter appears intertwined with the self.
Uddhava is clarifying a subtle philosophical doubt for Kṛṣṇa: how the soul and material nature, though different, appear mixed in experience due to their interaction, prompting deeper instruction on true discrimination.
Practice discernment: recognize that consciousness is not the body or mind, even though it seems entangled with them—this reduces identification, anxiety, and attachment, and supports steady devotion and inner clarity.