Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 31
Sāṅkhya Enumeration of Tattvas, Distinction of Puruṣa–Prakṛti, and the Mechanics of Birth and Death
दृग् रूपमार्कं वपुरत्र रन्ध्रे परस्परं सिध्यति य: स्वत: खे । आत्मा यदेषामपरो य आद्य: स्वयानुभूत्याखिलसिद्धसिद्धि: ॥ ३१ ॥
dṛg rūpam ārkaṁ vapur atra randhre parasparaṁ sidhyati yaḥ svataḥ khe ātmā yad eṣām aparo ya ādyaḥ svayānubhūtyākhila-siddha-siddhiḥ
La vue, la forme visible et l’image réfléchie du soleil dans l’ouverture de l’œil se révèlent mutuellement; mais le soleil originel dans le ciel se manifeste de lui-même. De même, l’Âme Suprême, cause première de tous les êtres et distincte d’eux, agit par la lumière de Sa propre expérience transcendante comme source ultime de tout ce qui se manifeste réciproquement.
Form is recognized by the function of the eye, and the eye’s function is understood by the presence of perceivable form. This interaction of sight and form further depends on the presence of light provided by the demigods, whose service of universal management depends on the presence of those who are to be managed, namely the living entities experiencing form with their eyes. Thus the three factors — adhyātma, represented by the senses such as the eye; adhibhūta, the sense objects such as form; and adhidaiva, the influence of the controlling deities — exist in an interdependent relationship.
FAQs
This verse explains that perception depends on interacting factors like sight, form, light, and the eye, but the Atma is separate from all of them—original and self-luminous—known by direct self-experience.
Krishna uses a familiar example—how seeing requires multiple supports—to show Uddhava that the Self is not one more material component; it is the foundational conscious reality realized independently of material conditions.
Notice that experiences rely on changing conditions (body, senses, environment), and practice steady self-inquiry and devotion to recognize the unchanging witness-consciousness beyond them.