Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 5
Sāṅkhya of Creation and Annihilation
Sarga–Nirodha-viveka
तमो रजः सत्त्वमिति प्रकृतेरभवन् गुणाः । मया प्रक्षोभ्यमाणायाः पुरुषानुमतेन च ॥ ५ ॥
tamo rajaḥ sattvam iti prakṛter abhavan guṇāḥ mayā prakṣobhyamāṇāyāḥ puruṣānumatena ca
เมื่อปรกฤติถูกกวนไหวด้วยสายพระเนตรของเรา และด้วยความยินยอมของปุรุษ (ชีวะ) ด้วยแล้ว คุณสามแห่งปรกฤติ—สตฺตวะ รชะ และตมะ—จึงปรากฏ เพื่อสนองความปรารถนาที่ค้างอยู่ของสัตว์ผู้ถูกผูกมัด
The Lord casts His glance over material nature to remind her that the conditioned souls have not worked out their chain of fruitive activity and mental speculation and that creation is therefore again necessary. The Lord desires that the conditioned souls get the opportunity to become Kṛṣṇa conscious in love of Godhead by understanding the futility of life without the Lord. The modes of nature arise after the glance of the Lord and become inimical to one another, each mode attempting to conquer the other two. There is constant competition between birth, maintenance and annihilation. Although a child desires to take birth, the cruel mother may desire to kill the child through abortion. Although we may desire to kill the weeds in a field, they stubbornly take birth again and again. Similarly, we often desire to maintain our physical status quo, but still deterioration sets in. Thus there is constant competition among the modes of nature, and by their combinations and permutations the living entities try to enjoy innumerable material situations without Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The word puruṣānumatena indicates that the Lord sets the stage for such material futility so that the conditioned souls will eventually come back home, back to Godhead.
FAQs
This verse states that the three modes arise from prakṛti when it is stirred by the Supreme Lord, with the sanction of the puruṣa (the witnessing conscious principle).
In the Uddhava Gītā, Kṛṣṇa teaches Uddhava the metaphysics of bondage and liberation—how the gunas arise and bind the jīva—so Uddhava can transcend material conditioning through correct knowledge and devotion.
By recognizing how goodness, passion, and ignorance influence thoughts and habits, one can deliberately cultivate sattva (clarity, discipline, compassion) and practice bhakti to rise beyond all three modes.