Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 22
Mahārāja Sagara, Kapila Muni, and the Deliverance of the Sixty Thousand Sons
ये देहभाजस्त्रिगुणप्रधाना गुणान् विपश्यन्त्युत वा तमश्च । यन्मायया मोहितचेतसस्त्वां विदु: स्वसंस्थं न बहि:प्रकाशा: ॥ २२ ॥
ye deha-bhājas tri-guṇa-pradhānā guṇān vipaśyanty uta vā tamaś ca yan-māyayā mohita-cetasas tvāṁ viduḥ sva-saṁsthaṁ na bahiḥ-prakāśāḥ
Ô Seigneur, les êtres incarnés, dominés par les trois guṇa, ne voient que les actions et réactions de ces guṇa, et parfois s’enfoncent dans l’obscurité de tamas. Le cœur fasciné par la māyā extérieure, ils ne Te connaissent pas, Toi qui demeures dans le cœur; l’intelligence voilée par sattva, rajas et tamas ne leur montre que l’éclat du dehors.
Unless one is situated in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, one is unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is situated in everyone’s heart. However, because the conditioned souls are influenced by material nature, they can see only the actions and reactions of material nature, but not the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One therefore must purify himself internally and externally:
FAQs
This verse says that by the Lord’s māyā, embodied beings become deluded and perceive mainly the material modes—especially ignorance—so they fail to recognize the Lord’s full transcendence.
Shukadeva Gosvami is speaking, continuing his narration of the Bhagavatam’s teachings to King Parikshit.
The verse implies that one must rise above material conditioning (the guṇas) through spiritual discipline—especially devotion and purified consciousness—so the Lord is known not only as an inner witness but as the Supreme beyond matter.