Bhagavad Gita 18.14
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 14 of 78
अधिष्ठानं तथा कर्ता करणं च पृथग्विधम् । विविधाश् च पृथक् चेष्टा दैवम् चैवात्र पञ्चमम् ॥
adhiṣṭhānaṃ tathā kartā karaṇaṃ ca pṛthag-vidham | vividhāś ca pṛthak ceṣṭā daivam caivātra pañcamam ||
Five causes of action: body-locus, agent, various instruments, diverse efforts, and — fifth — the Divine/Fate.
Word by word (3)
- adhiṣṭhānaṃ tathā kartā karaṇaṃ ca pṛthag-vidham
- — the substratum/locus (adhiṣṭhānam = the seat/basis — the body as the operative field of action), and likewise (tathā) the agent (kartā = the doer/jīva), and the various (pṛthag-vidham = of different kinds) instruments (karaṇam = organs of action and perception)
- vividhāś ca pṛthak ceṣṭā daivam caivātra pañcamam
- — and (ca) the various/manifold (vividhāḥ) separate/distinct (pṛthak) movements/functions/efforts (ceṣṭāḥ), and also (ca eva) here (atra) the Divine/Fate as the fifth (daivam pañcamam = daiva as the fifth factor) — daiva = the unseen cosmic factor, destiny, the divine orchestration that shapes outcomes
- daivam pañcamam
- — daiva as the fifth factor — the most philosophically significant: even with body + agent + instruments + efforts all in place, the outcome depends on a fifth factor beyond human control (daiva = the divine order, karmic momentum, cosmic orchestration). This is why the tyāgī releases fruit — the fifth cause is beyond any individual doer
The locus (body), the agent, the various instruments, the various efforts, and — the fifth — Destiny/the Divine: these are the five causes of all action.
A modern analogy
Even a simple act like typing an email requires all five: (1) the computer and workspace (adhiṣṭhāna), (2) you the decision-maker (kartā), (3) your fingers and keyboard (karaṇa), (4) the actual keystrokes (ceṣṭā), and (5) whether the server is up and the message is received (daiva). You control four of the five — the fifth is always partly beyond you. This is why fruit-attachment is philosophically misplaced: the fifth cause guarantees that you are never the sole author of any outcome.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
The seat and actor and the various organs, and the several functions of various sorts, and the Divinity also, the fifth among these. [1]
MISSING from index. [4]
The substratum, the agent likewise, the various sorts of organs, and the various and distinct movements, and with these the deities, too, as the fifth. [9]
Substratum, agent, the diverse kinds of organs, the diverse efforts severally, and with them the deities as the fifth. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Whatever action a person initiates with body, speech, and mind — right or the reverse — these five are its causes.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Even the wise are confused about action vs. inaction. I will explain — knowing this frees you from all wrong.
Sitting as a neutral — unmoved by guṇas, knowing 'guṇas act' — firm, unshaken, the pure witness.
Therefore, Brahman-knowers always begin yajña, dāna, and tapas with 'OṀ' as ordained by scripture.
Even yajña-dāna-tapas must be performed having abandoned attachment and fruits — My settled, highest opinion.
Verse 14 of 78 · back to Chapter 18