An avatar born to teach his mother: Sankhya as the Bhagavatam gives it, ending in devotion rather than in analysis.
Appears in
Kapila teaches his mother — Skandha 3, adhyayas 21-33 — A mother whose husband has gone to the forest asks her own son how to be free, and he answers with Sankhya and devotion.
Embodies
Who is a teacher — A son teaches his mother, a madman teaches a king, and an ascetic learns from a pigeon, a python and a courtesan.
The descents of the Lord — Boar, man-lion, dwarf and fish: the Lord comes down in whatever form the age needs, and Krishna is the Lord himself (1.3.28).
Questions to explore
Is the Kapila of the Bhagavatam the founder of Sankhya philosophy?
What does Kapila say is the cause of bondage?
Why does Kapila call devotion higher than liberation?
