A man, a male; in Sāṃkhya philosophy this term denotes that aspect of consciousness that is separate and independent from matter. Outside of this context, puruṣa (Tib. skyes bu) has been translated as “man” or “human.”

A fundamental ontological principle of the non-Buddhist Sāṅkhya tradition, puruṣa is the basic mode of timeless awareness. When puruṣa comes into contact with prakṛti, the undifferentiated potentiality that contains all possible transformations of thought and matter, prakṛti begins a sequential unfolding of internal and external metaphysical principles, thereby creating the known world. Puruṣa remains as the eternal, passive witness to this creation, until such time as puruṣa withdraws from prakṛti, thereby ending the process of creation and manifestation.