Shloka 46
The Lord’s Supervision of Embodiment: Fetal Development, Womb-Suffering, and the Jīva’s Prayer (Garbha-stuti) — and the Trap of Māyā
द्रव्योपलब्धिस्थानस्य द्रव्येक्षायोग्यता यदा । तत्पञ्चत्वमहंमानादुत्पत्तिर्द्रव्यदर्शनम् ॥ ४५ ॥ यथाक्ष्णोर्द्रव्यावयवदर्शनायोग्यता यदा । तदैव चक्षुषो द्रष्टुर्द्रष्टृत्वायोग्यतानयो: ॥ ४६ ॥
dravyopalabdhi-sthānasya dravyekṣāyogyatā yadā tat pañcatvam ahaṁ-mānād utpattir dravya-darśanam
Just as disease of the optic nerve can render the eyes unable to see color and form, dulling sight so that the jīva—the seer of both eye and vision—loses the power to see; similarly, when the body, the seat of perception, becomes incapable of perceiving, that is death, and when the notion arises, ‘this body is I,’ that is birth.
When one says, “I see,” this means that he sees with his eyes or with his spectacles; he sees with the instrument of sight. If the instrument of sight is broken or becomes diseased or incapable of acting, then he, as the seer, also ceases to act. Similarly, in this material body, at the present moment the living soul is acting, and when the material body, due to its incapability to function, ceases, he also ceases to perform his reactionary activities. When one’s instrument of action is broken and cannot function, that is called death. Again, when one gets a new instrument for action, that is called birth. This process of birth and death is going on at every moment, by constant bodily change. The final change is called death, and acceptance of a new body is called birth. That is the solution to the question of birth and death. Actually, the living entity has neither birth nor death, but is eternal. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre: the living entity never dies, even after the death or annihilation of this material body.
FAQs
This verse explains that material perception manifests when the perceptual instrument becomes capable, and this capability is linked to false ego (ahaṅkāra) transforming into the gross elements.
Kapila teaches Devahūti Sāṅkhya to help her disentangle the soul from matter by understanding how the senses, false ego, and elements generate worldly experience.
By noticing how “I” and “mine” color what we perceive, one can reduce identification with the body and cultivate detachment and devotion.