Word

Ahamkara

Sanskrit

अहंकार

IAST

ahaṁkāra

In General

A word refers to the ego of one's self. Ahamkara is identification of one's own existence. ‘Ahamkara’ is one’s identity, so it is an essential part in one’s confidence that he exists. In the spiritual sphere, ahamkara is rejected to annihilate selfishness. Uncontrolled ‘ahamkara’ is an evil and is marked as one of the eight evils in life.

Veda

Ahamkara (ego) identifies the jiva (self) with the body as 'I'