📿 Shloka Collection

Nanyam Gunebhyah Kartaram

Gita 14.19 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 14 — Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga
नान्यं गुणेभ्यः कर्तारं यदा द्रष्टानुपश्यति ।
गुणेभ्यश्च परं वेत्ति मद्भावं सोऽधिगच्छति ॥
Nanyam gunebhyah kartaram yada drashta anupashyati
Gunebhyash cha param vetti madbhavam so adhigacchati
न अन्यम्
no other
गुणेभ्यः
apart from the gunas
कर्तारम्
doer
यदा
when
द्रष्टा
the seer / witness
अनुपश्यति
perceives clearly
गुणेभ्यः
beyond the gunas
and
परम्
that which is beyond
वेत्ति
knows
मद्भावम्
My nature
सः अधिगच्छति
that person attains

This shloka is the turning point of the chapter. Krishna says: when a person sees clearly that the gunas alone are the doers of all action — and simultaneously knows the reality that lies beyond the gunas — that person attains My nature.

Every time we say "I did this" or "I achieved that," the truth according to the Gita is that the gunas did it. Sattva prompted the clarity, or rajas fuelled the ambition, or tamas caused the neglect. The soul itself is the witness, the drashta, sitting behind the screen and watching the play of the gunas unfold. The moment this becomes a lived realization rather than just an idea, the grip of the gunas begins to loosen.

And there is a second step: knowing what lies beyond the gunas. That "beyond" is the true Self, the atma, which is one with Krishna's own nature. Recognizing the gunas as the doers is half the journey. Knowing oneself as the witnessing consciousness beyond them is the destination.

This shloka marks the chapter's shift from describing the gunas to showing the way beyond them. The same principle appears in Gita 3.28: "Guna guneshu vartante" — gunas operate upon gunas. The wise person sees this truth and remains unattached.

The next shloka (14.20) will describe the reward for transcending the gunas: freedom from birth, death, old age, and suffering.

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