अहङ्कार
Ahaṅkāra is that principle of the Sāṅkhya system which arises from the mahat and from which the whole of further creation proceeds; its nature is the sense of 'I' and 'mine', by which the attributeless self comes to regard itself as doer and enjoyer. At SB 2.5.23-24 it is described as dominated by tamas and divided into three — vaikārika (sāttvika), taijasa (rājasa) and tāmasa — which are respectively the powers of substance, action and knowledge. From these three arise in turn the mind and ten deities (SB 2.5.30), the ten senses (SB 2.5.31), and the five gross elements (SB 2.5.25-29), so that the entire order of creation is made to turn upon ahaṅkāra.
Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa 2.5.24 — Sanskrit Wikisource (pinned oldid=200167)
'so 'hankara iti prokto vikurvan samabhut tridha' (SB 2.5.24); from the vaikarika, mind and ten deities (SB 2.5.30); from the taijasa, the ten senses (SB 2.5.31); from the tamasa, the five elements (SB 2.5.25-29).
SB 3.5.30 states the aham principle as threefold — 'vaikArikaH taijasaH cha tAmasaH cha iti ahaM tridhA'. SB 3.5.31 divides their functions: senses from the taijasa, the subtle origin of elements from the tamasa. At SB 3.5.43 the gods call it the seat of stubborn grasping, where in the house of the body the sense of 'I' is nursed.
