Bhagavad Gita 14.21
Spoken by Arjuna · Verse 21 of 27 · Arjuna's Journey
कैर् लिङ्गैस् त्रीन् गुणान् एतान् अतीतो भवति प्रभो । किमाचारः कथं चैतांस् त्रीन् गुणान् अतिवर्तते ॥
kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān atīto bhavati prabho | kimācāraḥ kathaṃ caitāṃs trīn guṇān ativartate ||
Arjuna asks: what are the signs of the guṇa-transcendent? What is his conduct? How does he cross all three?
Word by word (3)
- kair liṅgaiḥ trīn guṇān etān atītaḥ bhavati prabho
- — by what marks (kair liṅgaiḥ) is one known who has gone beyond (atītaḥ) these three guṇas, O Lord (prabho = O master)
- kimācāraḥ
- — what is his conduct (kim = what; ācāraḥ = behavior, practice, manner of living) — the practical/behavioral dimension
- kathaṃ ca etān trīn guṇān ativartate
- — and how (kathaṃ) does one transcend/go beyond (ativartate) these three guṇas — the path/method dimension
Arjuna said: O Lord, by what signs is one known who has gone beyond these three guṇas? What is his conduct? And how does one transcend these three guṇas?
A modern analogy
Arjuna asks the diagnostician's perfect question: What does health look like? And how does one become healthy? Here the student asks the right question at the right moment — the transition point from describing the disease (guṇas) to describing the cure (the path beyond the guṇas).
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
By what marks, O Lord, is he known who has crossed beyond those three guṇas? What is his conduct, and how does he pass beyond those three guṇas? [1]
By what marks, O Lord, is he (known) who has gone beyond these three Gunas? What is his conduct, and how does he pass beyond these three Gunas? [4]
Arjuna said: What are the characteristic marks of him who has crossed over the three qualities? What is his conduct? And how does he get across the three qualities? [9]
Arjuna said: What are the marks of one who has passed beyond these qualities, O Lord? What is his conduct? How does he cross beyond these three qualities? [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
This divine māyā of Mine, made of the guṇas, is hard to cross — but those who take refuge in Me alone do cross it.
Taking refuge in Me for liberation from old age and death — they know Brahman, Adhyātma, and all of Karma.
Krishna declares: 'I am the ground of Brahman — the Immortal, the Immutable, eternal Dharma, and perfect Bliss.'
Deluded by the three guṇa-constituted states, all this world does not recognize Me — beyond them, imperishable.
Which devotees are best in yoga — those who worship You with devotion, or those who worship the Imperishable Unmanifest?
Those who worship the Imperishable Unmanifest — all-pervading, inconceivable, kūṭastha, immovable, eternal, stable...
Verse 21 of 27 · back to Chapter 14