Shloka 11
Kapila’s Devotional Sāṅkhya: Sādhu-saṅga, Bhakti-yoga, and Fearlessness in the Supreme Shelter
तं त्वा गताहं शरणं शरण्यं स्वभृत्यसंसारतरो: कुठारम् । जिज्ञासयाहं प्रकृते: पूरुषस्य नमामि सद्धर्मविदां वरिष्ठम् ॥ ११ ॥
taṁ tvā gatāhaṁ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ sva-bhṛtya-saṁsāra-taroḥ kuṭhāram jijñāsayāhaṁ prakṛteḥ pūruṣasya namāmi sad-dharma-vidāṁ variṣṭham
Devahūti dit : Ô Seigneur, refuge des êtres, je me suis abritée à Tes pieds de lotus ; Toi seul es l’asile véritable. Tu es la hache qui abat l’arbre du samsara matériel. Ainsi je me prosterne devant Toi, le plus grand des connaisseurs du dharma transcendant, et je T’interroge sur le lien entre prakṛti et puruṣa, ainsi qu’entre la femme et l’homme.
Sāṅkhya philosophy, as is well known, deals with prakṛti and puruṣa. Puruṣa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead or anyone who imitates the Supreme Personality of Godhead as an enjoyer, and prakṛti means “nature.” In this material world, material nature is being exploited by the puruṣas, or the living entities. The intricacies in the material world of the relationship of the prakṛti and puruṣa, or the enjoyed and the enjoyer, is called saṁsāra, or material entanglement. Devahūti wanted to cut the tree of material entanglement, and she found the suitable weapon in Kapila Muni. The tree of material existence is explained in the Fifteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā as an aśvattha tree whose root is upwards and whose branches are downwards. It is recommended there that one has to cut the root of this material existential tree with the ax of detachment. What is the attachment? The attachment involves prakṛti and puruṣa. The living entities are trying to lord it over material nature. Since the conditioned soul takes material nature to be the object of his enjoyment and he takes the position of the enjoyer, he is therefore called puruṣa.
FAQs
This verse teaches that the Lord is the true refuge and, for His devotees, acts like an axe that cuts the tree of samsara—liberation begins with wholehearted surrender to Him.
Devahuti approaches Kapiladeva—her son and the Lord Himself—seeking spiritual shelter and requesting clear knowledge of prakriti (nature) and purusha (the Supreme Person) as the path beyond material bondage.
Adopt a daily practice of taking refuge in God through prayer and devotion, and pair it with sincere inquiry into what is temporary (prakriti) versus the eternal self and Lord (purusha) to reduce anxiety and attachment.