Shloka 45
The Lord’s Supervision of Embodiment: Fetal Development, Womb-Suffering, and the Jīva’s Prayer (Garbha-stuti) — and the Trap of Māyā
द्रव्योपलब्धिस्थानस्य द्रव्येक्षायोग्यता यदा । तत्पञ्चत्वमहंमानादुत्पत्तिर्द्रव्यदर्शनम् ॥ ४५ ॥ यथाक्ष्णोर्द्रव्यावयवदर्शनायोग्यता यदा । तदैव चक्षुषो द्रष्टुर्द्रष्टृत्वायोग्यतानयो: ॥ ४६ ॥
dravyopalabdhi-sthānasya dravyekṣāyogyatā yadā tat pañcatvam ahaṁ-mānād utpattir dravya-darśanam
ଯେତେବେଳେ ବିଷୟ-ଉପଲବ୍ଧିର ସ୍ଥାନ ଏହି ଦେହ ପଦାର୍ଥକୁ ଗ୍ରହଣ କରିବାରେ ଅଯୋଗ୍ୟ ହୋଇଯାଏ, ସେତେବେଳେ ତାହାର ପଞ୍ଚତ୍ୱ (ବିଘଟନ) ମୃତ୍ୟୁ। ଏବଂ ଅହଂମାନରୁ ‘ଏହି ଦେହ ହିଁ ମୁଁ’ ଭାବରେ ଦେହଦର୍ଶନ ଉଦୟ ହେବା ଜନ୍ମ।
When one says, “I see,” this means that he sees with his eyes or with his spectacles; he sees with the instrument of sight. If the instrument of sight is broken or becomes diseased or incapable of acting, then he, as the seer, also ceases to act. Similarly, in this material body, at the present moment the living soul is acting, and when the material body, due to its incapability to function, ceases, he also ceases to perform his reactionary activities. When one’s instrument of action is broken and cannot function, that is called death. Again, when one gets a new instrument for action, that is called birth. This process of birth and death is going on at every moment, by constant bodily change. The final change is called death, and acceptance of a new body is called birth. That is the solution to the question of birth and death. Actually, the living entity has neither birth nor death, but is eternal. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre: the living entity never dies, even after the death or annihilation of this material body.
FAQs
This verse explains that perception manifests when the relevant sense-organ becomes capable of apprehending its object, and that this process is linked with the fivefold sense capacities and the arising of ego-identification (ahaṅkāra).
Because in Sāṅkhya as taught by Kapila, mere sensory capacity is not the full story—identification with the perceiver (‘I am the one who sees’) conditions experience and makes perception part of embodied consciousness.
By noticing how the ‘I’-sense colors what we perceive, one can practice detachment—observing sensations without immediate identification—supporting clarity, self-control, and devotional focus.