Shloka 31
Vidura’s Questions on Devotion and Sarga; Maitreya Begins the Account of Creation
तैजसानीन्द्रियाण्येव ज्ञानकर्ममयानि च ॥ ३१ ॥
taijasānīndriyāṇy eva jñāna-karma-mayāni ca
The senses arise from the taijasa (rajas) aspect of false ego, and thus they serve as instruments of both knowledge and action. Therefore, speculative philosophical knowing and fruit-seeking activity are predominantly governed by the mode of passion, rajas.
The chief function of the false ego is godlessness. When a person forgets his constitutional position as an eternally subordinate part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and wants to be happy independently, he functions mainly in two ways. He first attempts to act fruitively for personal gain or sense gratification, and after attempting such fruitive activities for a considerable time, when he is frustrated he becomes a philosophical speculator and thinks himself to be on the same level as God. This false idea of becoming one with the Lord is the last snare of the illusory energy, which traps a living entity into the bondage of forgetfulness under the spell of false ego.
FAQs
This verse explains that the senses arising from rajas are divided into knowledge-acquiring senses (jñānendriyas) and action-performing senses (karmendriyas).
Vidura inquired about creation and the constitution of the living being; Maitreya answers by outlining the categories of matter, including how senses arise and function.
Recognizing which senses pull one toward information and which toward action helps a practitioner regulate both—redirecting them toward devotional hearing, chanting, and service.