What the scriptures say about ego

What do the scriptures say about ego?

The texts call it ahaṅkāra (अहंकार). The sense that I alone do and own. The Gita: the guṇas act, and the self fooled by ego thinks 'I am the doer' (3.27). They set service, surrender and faith against it.

81 verses
16 stories
Weighs on the mind

Read the verses Find it on the map

Nidagha

अहंकारवशादापदहंकाराद्दुराधयः । अहंकारवशादीहा नाहंकारात्परो रिपुः ॥

ahaṃkāravaśādāpadahaṃkārāddurādhayaḥ | ahaṃkāravaśādīhā nāhaṃkārātparo ripuḥ ||

From ego come misfortunes; from ego come troubles of the mind; from ego come cravings. There is no enemy greater than ego.

Maha Upanishad 3.16

Ego in the texts' own words

Someone in the verse is in it, or the text names it outright. Many readers find their own day here.

Bhartrihari
यदा किञ्चिज्ज्ञोऽहं गज इव मदान्धः समभवम् तदा सर्वज्ञोऽस्मीत्यभवदवलिप्तं मम मनः । यदा किञ्चित्किञ्चिद्बुधजनसकाशादवगतम् तदा मूर्खोऽस्मीति ज्वर इव मदो मे व्यपगतः ॥
yadā kiñcijjño’haṃ gaja iva madāndhaḥ samabhavam tadā sarvajño’smītyabhavadavaliptaṃ mama manaḥ | yadā kiñcitkiñcidbudhajanasakāśādavagatam tadā mūrkho’smīti jvara iva mado me vyapagataḥ ||
When I knew a little, I was blind with pride like an elephant in rut, and my mind swelled: 'I know everything.' When, little by little, I learned from the wise, I realised 'I am a fool', and my pride left me like a fever.
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Depicts the poet confessing his own I know everything. our reading
Behind my work was ambition, behind my love was personality,
Swami Vivekananda
Depicts self-seeking behind good work. our reading
Krishna
आढ्योऽभिजनवानस्मि कोऽन्योऽस्ति सदृशो मया । यक्ष्ये दास्यामि मोदिष्य इत्यज्ञानविमोहिताः ॥
āḍhyo’bhijanavānasmi ko’nyo’sti sadṛśo mayā | yakṣye dāsyāmi modiṣya ityajñānavimohitāḥ ||
'I am rich and well-born. Who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will give, I will rejoice': so they say, deluded by ignorance.
Bhagavad Gita 16.15
Names 'who else is equal to me?' our reading
Nidagha
अहंकारवशादापदहंकाराद्दुराधयः । अहंकारवशादीहा नाहंकारात्परो रिपुः ॥
ahaṃkāravaśādāpadahaṃkārāddurādhayaḥ | ahaṃkāravaśādīhā nāhaṃkārātparo ripuḥ ||
From ego come misfortunes; from ego come troubles of the mind; from ego come cravings. There is no enemy greater than ego.
Maha Upanishad 3.16

What feeds it, step by step

Sequences the texts state outright, in their own order.

Five causes of every result

Bhagavad Gita 18.13-16

five causes
Ego

Every action has five causes. These are the ground, the doer, the instruments, the efforts, and the unseen. Whoever sees the self alone as the doer does not see.

Krishna
अधिष्ठानं तथा कर्ता करणं च पृथग्विधम् । विविधाश्च पृथक्चेष्टा दैवं चैवात्र पञ्चमम् ॥
adhiṣṭhānaṃ tathā kartā karaṇaṃ ca pṛthagvidham | vividhāśca pṛthakceṣṭā daivaṃ caivātra pañcamam ||
The seat, the doer, the various instruments, the many kinds of effort, and fifth, providence: these are the five causes of every action.
Bhagavad Gita 18.14
Krishna
तत्रैवं सति कर्तारमात्मानं केवलं तु यः । पश्यत्यकृतबुद्धित्वान्न स पश्यति दुर्मतिः ॥
tatraivaṃ sati kartāramātmānaṃ kevalaṃ tu yaḥ | paśyatyakṛtabuddhitvānna sa paśyati durmatiḥ ||
That being so, whoever, through an untrained understanding, sees himself alone as the doer does not truly see.
Bhagavad Gita 18.16

The illnesses of the mind

Ramcharitmanas, Uttar Kand 121-122 (Gita Press)

Kakbhushundi
मोह सकल ब्याधिन्ह कर मूला। तिन्ह ते पुनि उपजहिं बहु सूला॥ काम बात कफ लोभ अपारा। क्रोध पित्त नित छाती जारा ॥
moh sakal byādhinha kar mūlā| tinha te puni upajahiṃ bahu sūlā|| kām bāt kaph lobh apārā| krodh pitta nit chātī jārā ||
Delusion is the root of all diseases, and from it spring many pains. Desire is the wind, greed the endless phlegm, and anger the bile that keeps the chest burning.
Ramcharitmanas · Uttar Kand
Kakbhushundi
ममता दादु कंडु इरषाई। हरष बिषाद गरह बहुताई॥ पर सुख देखि जरनि सोइ छई। कुष्ट दुष्टता मन कुटिलई ॥
mamatā dādu kaṃḍu iraṣāī| haraṣ biṣād garah bahutāī|| par sukh dekhi jarani soi chaī| kuṣṭa duṣṭatā man kuṭilaī ||
Possessiveness is ringworm and envy is the itch; the swings of elation and dejection are throat ailments. The burning you feel at another's happiness is consumption, and malice and a crooked mind are leprosy.
Ramcharitmanas · Uttar Kand

What bondage is

Ashtavakra Gita 8.1-4

Ego
Attachment
bondage
freedom

Bondage is when the mind wants something, grieves over something, rejects, grasps, is pleased or angry. Freedom is when the mind does not. Where there is 'I', there is bondage; where there is no 'I', freedom.

Ashtavakra
तदा बन्धो यदा चित्तं किञ्चिद् वाञ्छति शोचति । किञ्चिन् मुञ्चति गृण्हाति किञ्चिद् दृष्यति कुप्यति ॥ तदा मुक्तिर्यदा चित्तं न वाञ्छति न शोचति । न मुञ्चति न गृण्हाति न हृष्यति न कुप्यति ॥
tadā bandho yadā cittaṃ kiñcid vāñchati śocati | kiñcin muñcati gṛṇhāti kiñcid dṛṣyati kupyati || tadā muktiryadā cittaṃ na vāñchati na śocati | na muñcati na gṛṇhāti na hṛṣyati na kupyati ||
It is bondage when the mind wants something, grieves over something, drops or grabs something, is pleased or angered by something. It is freedom when the mind does not want, grieve, drop, grab, delight or rage.
Ashtavakra Gita 8.1
Ashtavakra
यदा नाहं तदा मोक्षो यदाहं बन्धनं तदा । मत्वेति हेलया किञ्चिन्मा गृहाण विमुञ्च मा ॥
yadā nāhaṃ tadā mokṣo yadāhaṃ bandhanaṃ tadā | matveti helayā kiñcinmā gṛhāṇa vimuñca mā ||
When there is no 'I', there is freedom; when there is 'I', there is bondage. Knowing this, lightly, grab nothing and push nothing away.
Ashtavakra Gita 8.4

What heals it

What the texts set against it, and the verses that give footing.

Five causespancha hetu
Five causes for every result. stated in the text
Gita 18.14-16
Surrenderśaraṇāgati
Hand the work over, drop 'mine'. stated in the text
Gita 3.30; 18.57
Faithśraddhā
Trust that 'I am not the doer' is the antidote named. stated in the text
Ashtavakra 1.8
Servicesevā
Work for the good of all. our reading
Gita 3.25; Vivekananda

Dattatreya
बालस्य वा विषयभोगरतस्य वापि मूर्खस्य सेवकजनस्य गृहस्थितस्य । एतद्गुरोः किमपि नैव न चिन्तनीयं रत्नं कथं त्यजति कोऽप्यशुचौ प्रविष्टम् ॥
bālasya vā viṣayabhogaratasya vāpi mūrkhasya sevakajanasya gṛhasthitasya | etadguroḥ kimapi naiva na cintanīyaṃ ratnaṃ kathaṃ tyajati ko’pyaśucau praviṣṭam ||
Whether the teacher is young, given to pleasures, unlearned, a servant or a householder, do not dwell on it. Who throws away a jewel because it fell in dirt?
Avadhuta Gita 2.1
Names pride that refuses wisdom from a lowly source. our reading
Dattatreya
अप्रमत्तो गभीरात्मा धृतिमान् जितषड्गुणः । अमानी मानदः कल्पो मैत्रः कारुणिकः कविः ॥
apramatto gabhīrātmā dhṛtimān jitaṣaḍguṇaḥ | amānī mānadaḥ kalpo maitraḥ kāruṇikaḥ kaviḥ ||
Alert, deep, steadfast, master of the six waves of hunger, thirst, grief, delusion, age and death; seeking no honour yet honouring others; capable, friendly, compassionate, wise.
Avadhuta Gita 8.3
Amani, seeking no honour. our reading
Bhartrihari
प्रदानं प्रच्छन्नं गृहमुपगते सम्भ्रमविधिः प्रियं कृत्वा मौनं सदसि कथनं चाप्युपकृते । अनुत्सेको लक्ष्म्यामनभिभवगन्धाः परकथाः सतां केनोद्दिष्टं विषममसिधाराव्रतमिदम् ॥
pradānaṃ pracchannaṃ gṛhamupagate sambhramavidhiḥ priyaṃ kṛtvā maunaṃ sadasi kathanaṃ cāpyupakṛte | anutseko lakṣmyāmanabhibhavagandhāḥ parakathāḥ satāṃ kenoddiṣṭaṃ viṣamamasidhārāvratamidam ||
Giving in secret, a warm welcome for whoever comes home, silence after doing a kindness, speaking in public of kindness received, no arrogance in wealth, talking of others without a whiff of contempt: who taught the good this vow, hard as walking a sword's edge?
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Shows no arrogance in prosperity. our reading
Bhartrihari
नम्रत्वेनोन्नमन्तः परगुणकथनैः स्वान् गुणान् ख्यापयन्तः स्वार्थान् सम्पादयन्तो विततपृथुतरारम्भयत्नाः परार्थे । क्षान्त्यैवाक्षेपरुक्षाक्षरमुखरमुखान् दुर्जनान् दूषयन्तः सन्तः साश्चर्यचर्या जगति बहुमताः कस्य नाभ्यर्चनीयाः ॥
namratvenonnamantaḥ paraguṇakathanaiḥ svān guṇān khyāpayantaḥ svārthān sampādayanto vitatapṛthutarārambhayatnāḥ parārthe | kṣāntyaivākṣeparukṣākṣaramukharamukhān durjanān dūṣayantaḥ santaḥ sāścaryacaryā jagati bahumatāḥ kasya nābhyarcanīyāḥ ||
Rising by bowing low, making their own virtues known by speaking of others', achieving their own aims by working hard for others, shaming slanderers whose mouths are full of harsh words simply by their patience: the good, whose conduct is a wonder, are honoured in the world. Who would not revere them?
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Rising by humility. our reading
Bhartrihari
भवन्ति नम्रास्तरवः फलोद्गमै- र्नवाम्बुभिर्दूरविलम्बिनो घनाः । अनुद्धताः सत्पुरुषाः समृद्धिभिः स्वभाव एवैष परोपकारिणाम् ॥
bhavanti namrāstaravaḥ phalodgamai- rnavāmbubhirdūravilambino ghanāḥ | anuddhatāḥ satpuruṣāḥ samṛddhibhiḥ svabhāva evaiṣa paropakāriṇām ||
Trees bow low with fruit; clouds hang low with new rain; the good are not puffed up by prosperity. This is the very nature of those who help others.
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Shows success and humility belonging together. our reading
Vidura
न वैरमुद्दिपयति प्रशान्तं / न दर्पमारोहति शान्तिमेति / न दुर्गतोऽस्मीति करोत्यकार्यं / तमार्यशीलं परमाहुरार्याः
na vairamuddipayati praśāntaṃ / na darpamārohati śāntimeti / na durgato’smīti karotyakāryaṃ / tamāryaśīlaṃ paramāhurāryāḥ
He does not rekindle a quarrel that has died down, does not climb onto his pride, stays calm, and does not do wrong telling himself 'I am in a bad way': the noble call such conduct the best.
Mahabharata · Udyoga Parva · Vidura Niti
Names not climbing onto pride. our reading
Vidura
न हृष्यत्यात्मसंमाने नावमानेन तप्यते / गाङ्गो ह्रद इवाक्षोभ्यो यः स पण्डित उच्यते
na hṛṣyatyātmasaṃmāne nāvamānena tapyate / gāṅgo hrada ivākṣobhyo yaḥ sa paṇḍita ucyate
One who is not elated when honoured, nor pained when slighted, and who stays unruffled like a deep pool of the Ganga, is called wise.
Mahabharata · Udyoga Parva · Vidura Niti
Honour does not inflate. our reading
Tulsidas
आकर चारि लाख चौरासी। जाति जीव जल थल नभ बासी॥ सीय राममय सब जग जानी। करउँ प्रनाम जोरि जुग पानी ॥
ākar cāri lākh caurāsī| jāti jīv jal thal nabh bāsī|| sīy rāmamay sab jag jānī| karauṁ pranām jori jug pānī ||
The eight million four hundred thousand kinds of beings, living in water, on land and in the sky: knowing the whole world to be full of Sita and Ram, I bow to them with folded hands.
Ramcharitmanas, Bal Kand 1.8 (chaupai 1)
The poet begins by bowing to all. our reading

Practices that grow surrender, faith and service

Verses that give something to do, today or in the hard moment.

Krishna
तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया । उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः ॥
tadviddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā | upadekṣyanti te jñānaṃ jñāninastattvadarśinaḥ ||
Learn it by bowing down, by questioning, and by service. Those who are wise and have seen the truth will teach you that knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita 4.34
Shows humility before a teacher who has seen the truth. our reading
Krishna
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति । तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः ॥
patraṃ puṣpaṃ phalaṃ toyaṃ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati | tadahaṃ bhaktyupahṛtamaśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ||
Whoever offers me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, that offering of love from the pure-hearted I accept.
Bhagavad Gita 9.26
Shows devotion as what makes the gift. our reading
Bhartrihari
दानं भोगो नाशस्तिस्रो गतयो भवन्ति वित्तस्य । यो न ददाति न भुङ्क्ते तस्य तृतीया गतिर्भवति ॥
dānaṃ bhogo nāśastisro gatayo bhavanti vittasya | yo na dadāti na bhuṅkte tasya tṛtīyā gatirbhavati ||
Wealth has three destinies: giving, enjoying and loss. Whoever neither gives nor enjoys it meets the third.
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Bhartrihari
प्रदानं प्रच्छन्नं गृहमुपगते सम्भ्रमविधिः प्रियं कृत्वा मौनं सदसि कथनं चाप्युपकृते । अनुत्सेको लक्ष्म्यामनभिभवगन्धाः परकथाः सतां केनोद्दिष्टं विषममसिधाराव्रतमिदम् ॥
pradānaṃ pracchannaṃ gṛhamupagate sambhramavidhiḥ priyaṃ kṛtvā maunaṃ sadasi kathanaṃ cāpyupakṛte | anutseko lakṣmyāmanabhibhavagandhāḥ parakathāḥ satāṃ kenoddiṣṭaṃ viṣamamasidhārāvratamidam ||
Giving in secret, a warm welcome for whoever comes home, silence after doing a kindness, speaking in public of kindness received, no arrogance in wealth, talking of others without a whiff of contempt: who taught the good this vow, hard as walking a sword's edge?
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Bhartrihari
श्रोत्रं श्रुतेनैव न कुण्डलेन दानेन पाणिर्न तु कङ्कणेन । विभाति कायः करुणापराणां परोपकारैर्न तु चन्दनेन ॥
śrotraṃ śrutenaiva na kuṇḍalena dānena pāṇirna tu kaṅkaṇena | vibhāti kāyaḥ karuṇāparāṇāṃ paropakārairna tu candanena ||
The ear is beautiful through learning, not earrings; the hand through giving, not bracelets; the body of the compassionate shines through helping others, not through sandal paste.
Bhartrihari · Niti Shatakam
Shows the body shining by helping. our reading
The seers
भर्गो विश्वसमर्चितं यदिह ते ह्यास्ते दयासागर ! तन्नो बुद्धिमहर्निशं गणपते ! शक्तचा स्वया सत्वरम । संरक्ष्यासत एव कर्मनिवहात् सत्कर्मणि प्रेरयेत् सियाऽलङ्कृतवामपार्श्व ! भगवस्त्वां सन्नमामो वयमा ॥
bhargo viśvasamarcitaṃ yadiha te hyāste dayāsāgara ! tanno buddhimaharniśaṃ gaṇapate ! śaktacā svayā satvarama | saṃrakṣyāsata eva karmanivahāt satkarmaṇi prerayet siyā’laṅkṛtavāmapārśva ! bhagavastvāṃ sannamāmo vayamā ||
Ocean of compassion, Ganapati: may your radiance, which the whole world worships, by its own power quickly guard our minds, day and night, from wrong action, and urge them to good action. Blessed one, with Siddhi at your left side, we bow to you.
Dheesh Gita 7.27
Shows namamah, we bow. our reading
Bhishma
प्राणकान्तारपाथेयं संसारोच्छेदभेषजम् / दुःखशोकपरित्राणं हरिरित्यक्षरद्वयम्॥]
prāṇakāntārapātheyaṃ saṃsārocchedabheṣajam / duḥkhaśokaparitrāṇaṃ harirityakṣaradvayam||]
Provisions for the wilderness of life, medicine that cuts the bonds of the world, rescue from sorrow and grief: the two syllables 'Ha-ri'.
Mahabharata, Shanti 46.127
Shows remembering the name. our reading
Markandeya
सर्वेषामेव भूतानां पिता माता च माधवः / गच्छध्वमेनं शरणं शरण्यं कौरवर्षभाः
sarveṣāmeva bhūtānāṃ pitā mātā ca mādhavaḥ / gacchadhvamenaṃ śaraṇaṃ śaraṇyaṃ kauravarṣabhāḥ
Madhava is the father and the mother of all beings. Go to him for refuge, best of the Kurus; he is the refuge.
Mahabharata, Vana 192.56

People who lived it

Someone in the scriptures went through this, and the story shows what turned.

From the Mahabharata
Bhima meets Hanuman
Searching for a flower for Draupadi, mighty Bhima finds an old monkey blocking the path and orders it to move. Told to lift its tail himself, he cannot budge it. The monkey is his elder brother Hanuman, who embraces him and teaches him.
Strength without humility is blind. The one blocking your path may be family.
From the Mahabharata
Vyadha Gita: the butcher who taught a sage
A proud ascetic, Kaushika, is sent to learn from a meat-seller in Mithila. The butcher teaches him plain goodness: don't return evil, repent and resolve, keep envy away, care for your parents, and don't spend your one life making enemies.
Wisdom lives in ordinary people doing ordinary work honestly. Care for your parents.
From the Ramayana
Narada's pride and the monkey face
Narada conquers desire in meditation and cannot stop telling people about it. Vishnu creates a city and a princess's swayamvara; Narada falls for her and asks Vishnu for a beautiful face. Vishnu, like a doctor refusing harmful food, gives him a monkey's face instead, and Narada is laughed out of the hall until he sees what his pride has done.
The moment you boast of beating a weakness, it has found another way in.
From the Ramayana
Ram's address to the citizens
Ram calls his people together and says he speaks without pride of rank: if he says anything wrong, stop him without fear. The way he recommends needs no grand effort, only a simple nature, an honest mind, contentment, and no grudges, no quarrels, no craving and no fear.
A good leader invites correction; a good life is simple, honest and free of grudges.

Is this where you are?

Write a line about today. Your words find their place on the map, with a verse for each.

Nearby on the map

See ego on the whole map

Questions people ask

What is the Sanskrit word for ego?

Ahaṅkāra (अहंकार). Ego, 'I am the doer'.

Which Bhagavad Gita verse speaks about ego?

Bhagavad Gita 16.15: 'I am rich and well-born. Who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will give, I will rejoice': so they say, deluded by ignorance.

How do the scriptures say to overcome ego?

They set service, surrender and faith against it. Five causes for every result. (Gita 18.14-16) Hand the work over, drop 'mine'. (Gita 3.30; 18.57)

Verses, translations and stories come from the Wisdom library, read with the traditional commentaries. A line marked stated in the text is a link the verse or a named commentator makes; our reading is Wisdom's own reading of the verse.