Text 276
tabe mahat-tattva haite trividha ahaṅkāra
yāhā haite devatendriya-bhūtera pracāra
tabe — thereafter; mahat-tattva haite — from the total material energy; tri-vidha — three kinds of; ahaṅkāra — egotism; yāhā haite — from which; devatā — of predominating deities; indriya — of the senses; bhūtera — and of material elements; pracāra — expansion.
“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.
The three types of egotism (ahaṅkāra) 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-ahaṅkāra), from which is manifested the eleventh sense organ, the mind, whose predominating Deity is Aniruddha (Bhāg. 3.26.27-28); (2) taijasa, or egotism in passion (rājasa-ahaṅkāra), from which are manifested the active and knowledge-acquiring senses, along with the intelligence, 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 sense of hearing, are also manifested (Bhāg. 3.26.32). Of these three types of egotism, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa is the predominating Deity. In the philosophical discourse known as the Sāṅkhya-kārikā, it is stated, sāttvika ekādaśakaḥ pravartate vaikṛtād ahaṅkārāt — bhūtādes tan-mātraṁ tāmasa-taijasādy-ubhayam.