FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.24.5

तमो रजः सत्त्वमिति प्रकृतेरभवन् गुणाः । मया प्रक्षोभ्यमाणायाः पुरुषानुमतेन च ॥ ५ ॥
tamo rajaḥ sattvam iti
[tamo rajah sattvam iti]
prakṛter abhavan guṇāḥ
[prakriter abhavan gunaah]
mayā prakṣobhyamāṇāyāḥ
[mayaa prakshobhyamaanaayaah]
puruṣānumatena ca
[purushaanumatena cha]
tamaḥ — ignorance rajaḥ — passion sattvam — goodness iti — thus prakṛteḥ — from nature abhavan — became manifest guṇāḥ — the modes mayā — by Me prakṣobhyamāṇāyāḥ — who was being agitated puruṣa — of the living entity anumatena — in order to fulfill the desires ca — and.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tamo rajaḥ sattvam iti
tamaḥ
ignorance
rajaḥ
passion
sattvam
goodness
iti
thus
prakṛter abhavan guṇāḥ
prakṛteḥ
from nature
abhavan
became manifest
guṇāḥ
the modes
mayā prakṣobhyamāṇāyāḥ
mayā
by Me
prakṣobhyamāṇāyāḥ
who was being agitated
puruṣānumatena ca
puruṣa
of the living entity
anumatena
in order to fulfill the desires
ca
and.
When material nature was agitated by My glance, the three material modes — goodness, passion and ignorance — became manifest to fulfill the pending desires of the conditioned souls.

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.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
When material nature was agitated by my glance, the three material modes—goodness, passion and ignorance—became manifest to fulfill the pending desires of the conditioned souls. The guṇas arose from prakṛti, agitated by my form as Mahā-viṣnu with the permission of the jīvas. The jīvas think, “Let us have the processes of karma, jñāna and bhakti.” The creation arranges for the jīva according to his karmas.
When nature was agitated by the Lord's glance, the three modes — goodness, passion, ignorance — became manifest to fulfill conditioned souls' pending desires. The modes serve desires.
Reflection Questions
  • What desires of mine are pending fulfillment through which modes?
  • Which desire could I withdraw and so dim its modes?
📝 My note

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