Samkhya Karika 31

स्वां स्वां प्रतिपद्यन्ते परस्पराकूतहेतुकां वृत्तिम् ।
पुरुषार्था एव हेतुर्न केनचित्कार्यते करणम् ॥ ३१ ॥

svāṁ svāṁ pratipadyante parasparākūtahetukāṁ vṛttim ।
puruṣārthā eva heturna kenacitkāryate karaṇam ॥ 31 ॥

svāṁ svāṁ=their respective; pratipadyante=enter into; paraspara=mutual; ākūta=intention; hetukāṁ=for the purpose of; vṛttim=function; puruṣārthā=serving the goal of Purusha; eva=alone; hetuḥ=purpose; na=not; kenacit=by anyone; kāryate=made to act; karaṇam=organ

They (internal and external sense organs) enter into their respective functions being incited by their mutual purpose. The main motive is to serve the purpose of Purusha. The organ is not made to act by anything (or anyone) else.

Each of the organs – the three internal organs (mind, ego and intellect), the five organs of action and the five organs of perception – performs its own respective functions. It is as if through mutual impulse or understanding, each organ is aware of its role. V. Mishra gives the example of a royal army which has soldiers who have been assigned specific roles. Some wield a lance, some a gun, some others a mace etc. They all perform their respective roles with the common purpose of achieving victory for their leader, the king. In a similar manner, all the organs perform their respective functions in order to serve the purpose of Purusha. Patanjali, in yoga sutra 2.18, mentions that the role of Prakriti is to fulfill the purpose of Purusha which is to provide experience and final liberation (bhoga and apavarga) for the Purusha.

The karika also states that the organs are not driven to act by any other force. This implies that fulfilling the purpose of Purusha is the only driving factor for the functioning of the organs. According to some commentators it implies that no conscious force like Ishvara (God) or any other divine force is responsible for the organs to perform their job. As we know, Prakriti and all its manifest organs have no consciousness of their own. However, they are able to do their respective functions due to the “reflected” consciousness of Purusha.