🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 3.28

Chapter 3 · कर्मयोग · Karma-Yoga · "The Yoga of Action" · Verse 28 of 43

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तत्त्ववित्तु महाबाहो गुणकर्मविभागयोः।

गुणा गुणेषु वर्तन्त इति मत्वा न सज्जते।।3.28।।
Bhagavad-Gītā 3.28 · the yathārtha śloka (Devanāgarī Sanskrit · canonical)

🪷 English Translations

Five authentic English voices · each from a distinct sampradāya · together revealing the verse's full śabda-tattva.

Shri Purohit Swami · Poetic English · 1935 · public domain · Cosmo Press tradition
3.28 But he, O Mighty One, who understands correctly the relation of the Qualities to action, is not attached to the act for he perceives that it is merely the action and reaction of the Qualities among themselves.
Swami Sivananda · Direct prose · Divine Life Society
3.28 But he who knows the Truth, O mighty-armed (Arjuna), about the divisions of the alities and (their) functions, knowing that the Gunas as senses move amidst the Gunas as the sense-objects, is not attached.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Word-key glosses · Advaita Ashrama · Śaṅkara-school
3.28 Tu, but, on the other hand; he who is a knower, tattva-vit, a knower of the facts;-knower of what kinds of facts?-guna-karma-vibhagayoh, about the varieties of the gunas and actions, i.e. a knower of the diversity of the gunas and the diversity of acitons; [Guna-vibhaga means the products of Prakrti which consists of the three gunas. They are the five subtle elements, mind, intellect, ego, five sensory organs, five motor organs and five objects (sound etc.) of the senses. Karma-vibhaga means the varieties of inter-actions among these.-Tr.] na sajjate, does not become attached; iti matva, thinking thus; 'Gunah, the gunas in the form of organs;-not the Self-vartante, rest (act); gunesu, on the gunus in the form of objects of the organs.'
Swami Ādidevānanda · Śrī-Vaiṣṇava perspective · Rāmānuja school
3.28 But he who knows the truth about the divisions of the Gunas and their actions - namely, about the division among Sattva etc., on the one hand, and the divisions among their respective functionings on the other hand - it is he who, realising that Gunas, i.e., Sattva etc., are operating on their own products, is not attached to the actions of the Gunas, being convinced, 'I am not the doer.'
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Academic precision · modern scholarly
3.28. But, O mighty-armed one, the knower of the real nature of the divisions of the Strands and of their [respective] divisions of work, realises : 'The Strands are at their [respective] purposes' And hence he is not attached.

🪷 English Commentaries · The Ācārya Voices

The classical commentary tradition rendered in English · each ācārya speaks from their own sampradāya · the seer chooses the depth of darśana.

Swami Sivananda · Verse-by-verse word-keys with Sanskrit anchors
3.28 तत्त्ववित् the knower of the Truth? तु but? महाबाहो O mightyarmed? गुणकर्मविभागयोः of the divisions of alities and functions? गुणाः the alities (in the shape of senses)? गुणेषु amidst the alities (in the shape of objects)? वर्तन्ते remain? इति thus? मत्वा knowing? न not? सज्जते is attached.Commentary He who knows the truth that the Self is entirely distinct from the three Gunas and actions does not become attached to the actions. He who knows the truth about the classification of the Gunas and their respective functions understands that the alities as senseorgans move amidst the alities as senseobjects. Therefore he is not attached to the actions. He knows? I am Akarta -- I am not the doer. (Cf.XIV.23).
Swami Gambīrānanda · Advaita-school commentary (Śaṅkara tradition)
3.28 Tu, but, on the other hand; he who is a knower, tattva-vit, a knower of the facts;-knower of what kinds of facts?-guna-karma-vibhagayoh, about the varieties of the gunas and actions, i.e. a knower of the diversity of the gunas and the diversity of acitons; [Guna-vibhaga means the products of Prakrti which consists of the three gunas. They are the five subtle elements, mind, intellect, ego, five sensory organs, five motor organs and five objects (sound etc.) of the senses. Karma-vibhaga means the varieties of inter-actions among these.-Tr.] na sajjate, does not become attached; iti matva, thinking thus; 'Gunah, the gunas in the form of organs;-not the Self-vartante, rest (act); gunesu, on the gunus in the form of objects of the organs.'
Swami Ādidevānanda · Rāmānuja Śrī-Vaiṣṇava commentary
3.28 But he who knows the truth about the divisions of the Gunas and their actions - namely, about the division among Sattva etc., on the one hand, and the divisions among their respective functionings on the other hand - it is he who, realising that Gunas, i.e., Sattva etc., are operating on their own products, is not attached to the actions of the Gunas, being convinced, 'I am not the doer.'
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Modern academic scholarship
3.28 Tattvavit tu etc. On the other hand, the knower of the real nature of divisions of the Strands and of their actions, sets himself free by viewing 'The Prakrti acts; what comes to men ?' The ignorant men have been described as being attached to action (above III, 26). That attachment [of theirs, the Lord] demonstrates :
Swami Chinmayānanda · Chinmaya Mission · modern Vedantic teaching
।।3.28।। पूर्व श्लोक में अज्ञानी का जो लक्षण बताया गया है उसकी तुलना में ज्ञानी पुरुष की उससे ठीक विपरीत दृष्टि यहाँ श्रीकृष्ण बता रहे हैं। ज्ञानी के कर्मों में आसक्ति का कोई स्थान नहीं रहता क्योंकि वह जानता है कि मन ही बाह्यजगत् में कर्मरूप में व्यक्त होता है। यह विवेक उसमें सदा जागृत रहता हैं। एक बार इस सत्य को सम्यक् रूप से जान लेने पर ज्ञानी पुरुष यह समझ लेता है कि राग और द्वेष प्रवृत्ति या निवृत्ति सफलता और विफलता ये सब मन के लिए हैं। अत उसे फल में आसक्त होने का कोई प्रश्न ही नहीं रह जाता। इस प्रकार बन्धनों से मुक्त हुआ ज्ञानी पुरुष एक सच्चे खिलाड़ी के समान कार्य करता है जिसका आनन्द केवल खेल में ही हैं अंक जीतने में नहीं।इस स्थान पर श्रीकृष्ण का अर्जुन को महाबाहो कहकर सम्बोधित करना अर्थपूर्ण है। इस सम्बोधन से हमें धनुर्धारी के रूप में अर्जुन की अनेक उपलब्धियों का स्मरण होता है। यहाँ महाबाहो शब्द सूचित करता है कि सच्चा और वीर पुरुष वह नहीं जो किसी युद्ध में केवल कुछ शत्रुओं का ही वध करे बल्कि जो निरन्तर मन में चल रहे युद्ध का अथक सामना करते हुये आसक्तियों के ऊपर पूर्ण विजय प्राप्त करता है वही पुरुष वास्तविक वीर है। कर्म के युद्धक्षेत्र में परिस्थितियों पर आधिपत्य स्थापित करते हुये समस्त दिशाओं से आने वाले आसक्तियों के बाणों के समक्ष आत्मसमर्पण न करते हुये जोे कर्म करता है वही अपराजेय अमर वीर है। तत्पश्चात् वह निशस्त्र होकर र्मत्य वीरों के रथ में बैठकर प्रत्येक कुरुक्षेत्र में अनेक सेनाओं का मार्गदर्शन कर सकता है ऐसा ही पुरुष जो सत्य का ज्ञाता है तत्त्ववित कहलाता है।अब

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सर्वम् कृष्णार्पणम् — this verse is one maṇi (jewel) on Krishna's thread (BG 7.7)