Karya-Karana-Kartritve

Their roles are clearly distinct. Whatever action happens — the entire chain of cause and effect — Prakriti is responsible for it. Prakriti does the doing.

But the experience of pleasure and pain belongs to Purusha, the soul. Think of a theater. The stage, the lights, the costumes, the set design — all of that is Prakriti's work. But the one in the audience who laughs or weeps — the one who actually experiences — that is Purusha.

This verse lays out the division of roles between Prakriti and Purusha. The concept has deeply influenced both Yoga and Sankhya traditions.

In the Gita Press edition, this is the twenty-first shloka. Attributing 'bhoktritva' — the capacity to experience — to Purusha is a philosophical insight that explains how bondage to the world arises.