Shloka 27
Nārada Explains the Allegory of King Purañjana
Deha–Indriya–Manaḥ Mapping and the Remedy of Bhakti
यदात्मानमविज्ञाय भगवन्तं परं गुरुम् । पुरुषस्तु विषज्जेत गुणेषु प्रकृते: स्वदृक् ॥ २६ ॥ गुणाभिमानी स तदा कर्माणि कुरुतेऽवश: । शुक्लं कृष्णं लोहितं वा यथाकर्माभिजायते ॥ २७ ॥
yadātmānam avijñāya bhagavantaṁ paraṁ gurum puruṣas tu viṣajjeta guṇeṣu prakṛteḥ sva-dṛk
The soul, proud of and identified with the guṇas, then performs actions helplessly. Therefore, according to karma, he is born into many kinds of bodies—white, dark, or red—and wanders through countless species under prakṛti’s modes.
These different types of bodies are explained in Bhagavad-gītā (13.22) :
FAQs
This verse explains that when one identifies with material nature’s modes (goodness, passion, ignorance), one is compelled to act, and those actions (karma) shape one’s next birth within those modes.
Narada was redirecting the king from fruitive ritualism toward self-realization and devotion, showing how identification with the gunas binds the soul to compulsory action and repeated birth.
Notice when identity is driven by passion, ignorance, or even pride in goodness, and shift to God-centered living—offering actions to the Lord and cultivating bhakti—so actions no longer bind the heart.