The Inner Instrument (Antaḥkaraṇa: Manas, Buddhi, Ahaṅkāra)

The antaḥkaraṇa is the 'inner instrument' — the toolkit of the mind, analyzed into parts: manas, which gathers and processes the impressions of the senses; buddhi, the intellect that judges and decides; and ahaṅkāra, the ego or 'I-maker' that claims experiences as 'mine.' Crucially, in Vedānta and Yoga none of these is the true self; they are subtle equipment that the witnessing self lights up but is not.