Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 30
Sāṅkhya Enumeration of Tattvas, Distinction of Puruṣa–Prakṛti, and the Mechanics of Birth and Death
ममाङ्ग माया गुणमय्यनेकधा विकल्पबुद्धीश्च गुणैर्विधत्ते । वैकारिकस्त्रिविधोऽध्यात्ममेक- मथाधिदैवमधिभूतमन्यत् ॥ ३० ॥
mamāṅga māyā guṇa-mayy anekadhā vikalpa-buddhīś ca guṇair vidhatte vaikārikas tri-vidho ’dhyātmam ekam athādhidaivam adhibhūtam anyat
Meu querido Uddhava, Minha energia material, composta pelos três guṇas e atuando por meio deles, manifesta as variedades da criação e as variadas consciências que as percebem. O resultado manifesto da transformação material é entendido em três aspectos: adhyātmico, adhidaívico e adhibhaútico.
The word vikalpa-buddhīḥ indicates that consciousness within various material bodies reveals different aspects of the Lord’s creation. Birds such as seagulls glide on the ocean breezes, experiencing the Lord’s creation of wind and altitude. The fish experience life within the water, and other creatures intimately experience life within trees or within the earth. Human society affords its own varieties of awareness, and similarly in heaven and hell different experiences are available. All types of material consciousness are transformations of the three modes of material nature, the expansions of the Lord’s illusory energy.
FAQs
This verse explains that Krishna’s māyā, operating through the three guṇas, manifests experience in a threefold way—self-based (adhyātmika), deity/forces-based (adhidaivika), and creature/element-based (adhibhautika)—framing how embodied life is perceived and endured.
In the Uddhava Gita, Krishna instructs Uddhava in deep metaphysics so he can discern how māyā and the guṇas structure worldly experience, and thus cultivate detachment and devotion that lead beyond material conditioning.
By identifying whether distress is internal (mind/body), environmental/uncertain forces, or relational/material, one responds more wisely—while remembering that all are movements of guṇa-mayī māyā, best transcended through steady bhakti and spiritual discrimination.