Shloka 28
Karma Yoga — Karma Yoga
तत्त्ववित्तु महाबाहो गुणकर्मविभागयोः । गुणा गुणेषु वर्तन्त इति मत्वा न सज्जते ॥ ३.२८ ॥
tattvavit tu mahābāho guṇa-karma-vibhāgayoḥ | guṇā guṇeṣu vartanta iti matvā na sajjate || 3.28 ||
महाबाहो, गुण आणि कर्म यांच्या विभागाचे तत्त्व जाणणारा तत्त्ववित् ‘गुण हे गुणांमध्येच वर्ततात’ असे समजून आसक्त होत नाही.
But the knower of truth, O mighty-armed, regarding the division of guṇas and actions, thinking ‘the guṇas act among the guṇas,’ is not attached.
But the one who knows reality, O Mahābāhu, concerning the differentiation of guṇas and actions—having understood ‘guṇas operate upon guṇas’—does not cling.
The key interpretive phrase ‘guṇā guṇeṣu’ is often explained as senses/mind (guṇas) interacting with their objects (also within prakṛti). Traditional commentaries may map this onto sense-fields; academic readings keep it as a general Sāṅkhya-style analysis.
FAQs
Reframing experience as interacting processes (rather than a threatened ego) can reduce reactivity and compulsive attachment.
Knowledge consists in discerning prakṛti’s operations; non-attachment follows when action is not misattributed to an isolated ‘I.’
This verse complements 3.27 by describing the stance of the wise: understanding mechanisms of nature, they participate without fixation.
Systems-thinking—seeing behavior as interactions among capacities and conditions—can support calmer decision-making and less blame-oriented self-talk.