Shloka 18
Śukasya Janma-yoga-phalaṁ — Vyāsasya Tapasā Putrārthaḥ (Śānti-parva 310)
अहडूकाराच्च सम्भूतं मनो भूतगुणात्मकम् | तृतीय: सर्ग इत्येष आहड्कारिक उच्यते,अहंकारसे मन उत्पन्न हुआ है, जो पञ्चभूत और शब्दादि गुणस्वरूप है। इसे तीसरा और आहंकारिक सर्ग कहा जाता है
ahaṅkārāc ca sambhūtaṃ mano bhūta-guṇātmakam | tṛtīyaḥ sarga ity eṣa āhaṅkārika ucyate ||
Dijo Yājñavalkya: «Del sentido del yo (ahaṅkāra) nace la mente (manas), constituida por los elementos y sus cualidades. Esto se describe como la tercera etapa de la creación, llamada creación “ahaṅkārica”: muestra cómo la identificación interior con el “yo” se vuelve fuente de la actividad mental y, por ello, de la atadura y de la lucha ética».
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a causal sequence in inner and cosmic evolution: from ahaṅkāra (ego-sense) arises manas (mind), which operates through the framework of elements and their qualities. Ethically, it implies that misidentification (‘I’ and ‘mine’) generates mental agitation and attachment; reducing ego-sense is therefore central to self-mastery and liberation.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Yājñavalkya explains stages of creation/manifestation. Here he identifies the mind as a product of ahaṅkāra and labels this as the third, ‘ahaṅkāric’ creation—part of a systematic account of how the inner instruments arise and condition experience.