The System of the Vedanta according to Badarayana's Brahma-Sutras and Cankara's Commentary c8.s6.t3.3

c8.s6.t3.3

These external organs [which are limited to the present] have as correlative the inner organ (*antaḥkaraṇam*) or Manas (the two expressions are for Śaṅkara completely interchangeable cf. 711, 4. 21, 4. 666, 5) which extends (p. 711, 10) to past, present and future (p. 723, 9); "by division of the functions some distinguish Manas, Buddhi, Ahaṃkāra, Cittam" (p. 711, 11);—"this inner organ which serves the soul as Upādhi is here and there variously termed Manas, Buddhi, Vijñānam, Cittam; others even distinguish separate functions and term the faculty of reflection (*saṃcaya*, p. 340, 6 vikalpa) Manas, that of decision (*niścaya*, p. 340, 7 adhyavasāya) Buddhi" (p. 666, 7). Śaṅkara mentions these different views without refuting them but also without making use of them; for him there is only one inner organ, the Manas; and even the Buddhi is for him not a distinct faculty but sometimes the activity of perception, sometimes the mind in general (though it occasionally in connection with Kāṭh. 3, 3 appears coordinate with the Manas, p. 638, 11; cf. 263, 8. 389, 2. 265, 6. 787, 10. 1056, 1).—So too Ahaṃkāra is in our system not a distinct organ but means in the first place "the word I" (p. 157, 5), then as a synonym of Ahampratyaya "the idea of the Ego" "self-consciousness" (pp. 672, 1. 2. 680, 5. 6) whose object (*ahampratyaya-viṣaya*) is the individual soul (pp. 73, 5. 78, 6. 672, 1, while on the other hand p. 15, 2 asmat-pratyaya-viṣaya refers to the highest soul); as subject of presentation of the Ego sometimes the individual soul (*ahaṃkartar* p. 73, 5) is mentioned, sometimes the Manas (ahampratyayin p. 21, 5); the highest soul on the other hand is not subject of the Ahaṃkâra, for that involves activity; on the contrary, like all else, the Ahaṃkâra (with its perceiving subject and perceived object) is for the Upâdhi-less Soul simply an object of perception (p. 680, 6). Cf. above p. 321.