Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 43
Kāliya-damana: Kṛṣṇa Subdues the Serpent and Purifies the Yamunā
भूतमात्रेन्द्रियप्राणमनोबुद्ध्याशयात्मने । त्रिगुणेनाभिमानेन गूढस्वात्मानुभूतये ॥ ४२ ॥ नमोऽनन्ताय सूक्ष्माय कूटस्थाय विपश्चिते । नानावादानुरोधाय वाच्यवाचकशक्तये ॥ ४३ ॥
bhūta-mātrendriya-prāṇa- mano-buddhy-āśayātmane tri-guṇenābhimānena gūḍha-svātmānubhūtaye
Obeisances unto You, the Supreme Soul of the elements, the tan-mātras, the senses, the life-air, and the mind, intelligence and consciousness. By Your arrangement the minute jīvas falsely identify with the three guṇas, and thus their realization of the true self is veiled. Again we bow to You—the unlimited Lord, supremely subtle and all-knowing, fixed in unchanging transcendence—who sanctions diverse philosophical views and who is the power sustaining both the expressed meaning and the words that express it.
FAQs
This verse teaches that the Lord is the inner Self of all faculties, yet He is hidden when consciousness is bound by identification with the three guṇas; true realization comes through inner awakening and devotion.
Seeing Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy while their husband was being punished, they surrendered with hymns describing Him as the indwelling Self, seeking mercy and protection through devotion and right understanding.
Observe thoughts, emotions, and impulses as guṇa-driven movements of mind and body, and anchor identity in service to the Lord—reducing ego-reactivity and increasing clarity and devotion.