Shloka 9
सानुबन्धे च देहेऽस्मिन्नकुर्वन्नसदाग्रहम् । ज्ञानेन दृष्टतत्त्वेन प्रकृते: पुरुषस्य च ॥ ९ ॥
sānubandhe ca dehe ’sminn akurvann asad-āgraham jñānena dṛṣṭa-tattvena prakṛteḥ puruṣasya ca
Without clinging to this body and its attendant ties, one should, through the vision of knowledge, behold the truth of prakriti (matter) and purusha (the soul).
The conditioned souls are eager to identify with the body and consider that the body is “myself” and that anything in relationship with the body or possessions of the body is “mine.” In Sanskrit this is called aham-mamatā, and it is the root cause of all conditional life. A person should see things as the combination of matter and spirit. He should distinguish between the nature of matter and the nature of spirit, and his real identification should be with spirit, not with matter. By this knowledge, one should avoid the false, bodily concept of life.
FAQs
This verse teaches that although we live in the body and its relationships, we should not grasp the temporary as ultimate; instead, we should see reality through spiritual knowledge.
Kapila instructs Devahūti in self-realization: by discerning matter (prakṛti) from the conscious self (puruṣa), she can give up false identification and advance toward liberation and devotion.
Do your duties and maintain relationships, but stop defining your identity by changing roles and possessions; cultivate daily study, reflection, and devotion to see what is temporary versus eternal.