FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.11.5

स वासनात्मा विषयोपरक्तोगुणप्रवाहो विकृत: षोडशात्मा बिभ्रत्पृथङ्‌नामभि रूपभेद-मन्तर्बहिष्ट्वं च पुरैस्तनोति ॥ ५ ॥
sa vāsanātmā viṣayoparakto
[sa vaasanaatmaa vishayoparakto]
guṇa-pravāho vikṛtaḥ ṣoḍaśātmā
[guna-pravaaho vikritah shodashaatmaa]
bibhrat pṛthaṅ-nāmabhi rūpa-bhedam
[bibhrat prithan-naamabhi roopa-bhedam]
antar-bahiṣṭvaṁ ca purais tanoti
[antar-bahishtvam cha purais tanoti]
Word-for-word
saḥ — that vāsanā — endowed with many desires ātmā — the mind viṣaya-uparaktaḥ — attached to material happiness, sense gratification guṇa-pravāhaḥ — driven by the force of either sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa or tamo-guṇa vikṛtaḥ — transformed by lust and so on ṣoḍaśa-ātmā — the chief of the sixteen material elements (the five gross elements, the ten senses and the mind) bibhrat — wandering pṛthak-nāmabhiḥ — with separate names rūpa-bhedam — assuming different forms antaḥ-bahiṣṭvam — the quality of being first-class or last-class ca — and puraiḥ — with different bodily forms tanoti — manifests.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sa vāsanātmā viṣayoparakto
saḥ
that
vāsanā
endowed with many desires
ātmā
the mind
viṣaya-uparaktaḥ
attached to material happiness, sense gratification
guṇa-pravāho vikṛtaḥ ṣoḍaśātmā
guṇa-pravāhaḥ
driven by the force of either sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa or tamo-guṇa
vikṛtaḥ
transformed by lust and so on
ṣoḍaśa-ātmā
the chief of the sixteen material elements (the five gross elements, the ten senses and the mind)
bibhrat pṛthaṅ-nāmabhi rūpa-bhedam
bibhrat
wandering
pṛthak-nāmabhiḥ
with separate names
rūpa-bhedam
assuming different forms
antar-bahiṣṭvaṁ ca purais tanoti
antaḥ-bahiṣṭvam
the quality of being first-class or last-class
ca
and
puraiḥ
with different bodily forms
tanoti
manifests.
Because the mind is absorbed in desires for pious and impious activities, it is naturally subjected to the transformations of lust and anger. In this way, it becomes attracted to material sense enjoyment. In other words, the mind is conducted by the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. There are eleven senses and five material elements, and out of these sixteen items, the mind is the chief. Therefore the mind brings about birth in different types of bodies among demigods, human beings, animals and birds. When the mind is situated in a higher or lower position, it accepts a higher or lower material body.
Purport

Transmigration among the 8,400,000 species is due to the mind’s being polluted by certain material qualities. Due to the mind, the soul is subjected to pious and impious activities. The continuation of material existence is like the waves of material nature. In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese’, khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi: “My dear brother, the spirit soul is completely under the control of māyā, and you are being carried away by its waves.” This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā :

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.”

Material existence means being fully controlled by material nature. The mind is the center for accepting the dictations of material nature. In this way the living entity is carried away in different types of bodies continuously, millennium after millennium.

kṛṣṇa bhuli’ sei jīva anādi-bahirmukha ataeva māyā tāre deya saṁsāra-duḥkha

( Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 20.117 )

Due to the living entity’s forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa, one is bound by the laws of material nature.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The mind, the chief among the sixteen elements, endowed with pious and sinful impressions, attached to sense objects, agitated by the guṇas, transformed by emotions, and supporting different forms through acceptance of different bodies, extends itself higher and lower positions with different names. The mind (ātmā) endowed with impressions of piety and sin, contaminated with sense objects, agitated by the guṇas, transformed by the lust and other emotions, the chief element among the sixteen, accepting different forms such as devatā, animal or human, higher or lower, through bodies (puraiḥ), manifests itself with various names. The sandhi should be nāmabhī rupa-bhedam. The short form nāmabhi is poetic license.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Lust and anger arise when the mind is invested in pious and impious karma. We get tossed between attraction and repulsion, riding the waves of nature. Stop investing in the waves and they stop riding you.
Reflection Questions
  • Where is the wave of lust or anger most reliably catching you, and what investment underneath it keeps it pulling?
  • What would 'getting out of the surf' look like in your daily life?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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