Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 20.276

tabe mahat-tattva haite trividha ahańkāra

yāhā haite devatendriya-bhūtera pracāra

SYNONYMS

tabe — thereafter; mahat-tattva haite — from the total material energy; tri-vidha — three kinds of; ahańkāra — egotism; yāhā haite — from which; devatā — of predominating deities; indriya — of the senses; bhūtera — and of material elements; pracāra — expansion.

TRANSLATION

"First the total material energy is manifested, and from this arise the three types of egotism, which are the original sources from which all demigods [controlling deities], senses and material elements expand.

PURPORT

The three types of egotism (ahańkāra) are technically known as vaikārika, taijasa and tāmasa. The mahat-tattva is situated within the heart, or citta, and the predominating Deity of the mahat-tattva is Lord Vāsudeva (Bhāg. 3.26.21). The mahat-tattva is transformed into three divisions: (1) vaikārika, egotism in goodness (sāttvika-ahańkāra), from which the eleventh sense organ, the mind, is manifested and whose predominating Deity is Aniruddha (Bhāg. 3.26.27-28); (2) taijasa, or egotism in passion (rājasa-ahańkāra), from which the senses and intelligence are manifested and whose predominating Deity is Lord Pradyumna (Bhāg. 3.26.29-31); and (3) tāmasa, or egotism in ignorance, from which sound vibration (śabda-tanmātra) expands. From sound vibration, the sky (ākāśa) is manifested, and then the senses, beginning with the ear, are also manifested (Bhāg. 3.26.32). Of these three types of egotism, Lord Sańkarṣaṇa is the predominating Deity. In the philosophical discourse known as the Sāńkhya-kārikā, it is stated, sāttvika ekādaśakaḥ pravartate vaikṛtād ahańkārāt — bhūtādes tan-mātraḿ tāmasa-taijasādy-ubhayam.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness