Bhagavad Gita 3.27
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 27 of 43
प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः । अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ | ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate ||
All actions are done by the gunas of nature. The ego-deluded one thinks 'I am the doer' — this is the root of bondage.
Word by word (3)
- prakṛteḥ guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ kriyamāṇāni
- — all actions are performed entirely by the gunas of Prakriti · Prakṛti = nature (primordial material nature — the field of all phenomena). Guṇa = the three fundamental qualities/forces: tamas (inertia/darkness), rajas (passion/activity), sattva (clarity/harmony). Sarvaśaḥ = entirely, in every way. Kriyamāṇāni = being performed (passive present participle). ALL action — without exception — is performed by Prakriti's gunas operating through the body-mind instrument.
- ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
- — the one whose self is deluded by ego/I-sense · Ahaṅkāra = the I-maker, ego (aham = I, kāra = maker). Vimūḍha = thoroughly confused, deluded. Ātmā = self. The compound: the self that is completely confused by the false I-sense. Ahaṅkāra is the mechanism that labels Prakriti's actions as 'mine' — creating the illusion of personal doership.
- kartā aham iti manyate
- — thinks 'I am the doer' · Kartā = doer, agent (from kṛ, to do). Aham = I. Manyate = thinks, believes (from man, to think). The core delusion of ignorance: the ego claims authorship of actions that were actually performed by Prakriti's gunas. This false claim of doership is the source of all karmic bondage.
All actions are entirely performed by the gunas (qualities) of Prakriti (nature). But the person whose self is deluded by ego thinks: 'I am the doer.'
A modern analogy
A wave rises on the ocean and thinks: 'I did that — I am powerful!' But it was the ocean's energy moving through it. The wave claimed authorship of what the ocean did. This is the verse's teaching: the ego (ahaṅkāra) is the wave claiming doership of actions that were really done by the guṇas of nature (Prakriti/Brahman) all along — and that false sense of 'I am the doer' is the root of bondage.
Take with you
- The gunas (tamas, rajas, sattva) are doing the acting — your body-mind is their instrument.
- Ego-claiming of those actions ('I did it, therefore I am great/bad/responsible') is the delusion.
- This does not mean no accountability — it means the accountability should be for how you work with the gunas, not for claiming to be their source.
- Recognizing 'the gunas are acting' begins to dissolve the ego's grip on outcomes.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
All actions are everywhere being done by the qualities of nature. He who is deluded by the ego thinks: 'I am the doer.' [1]
All actions are performed by the gunas of Prakriti. He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks: 'I am the doer.' [4]
All actions are performed by the qualities of nature. He whose mind is deluded by the ego thinks 'I am the doer.' [6]
The bonds of Nature work All action, but the fool, deluded, thinks He is the worker. [7]
All actions are performed by the qualities of nature. He whose mind is deluded by egoism believes 'I am the doer.' [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The tattva-vit sees gunas moving among gunas and does not become attached. Knowledge itself produces liberation.
Seeing the Lord equally everywhere, one does not harm the Self through the self — and reaches the highest.
One who — given the five causes — sees the self alone as doer due to unrefined intellect sees not; that is durmati.
Hear the three-fold division of buddhi and dhṛti by guṇas, declared exhaustively and distinctly, O Dhananjaya.
The Vedas deal in the three qualities of nature — go beyond them: free from opposites, self-possessed.
Seeing all actions done by prakṛti alone and the Self as non-doer — that is true seeing.
Verse 27 of 43 · back to Chapter 3