Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-18, Slokam - 19.

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Monday, June 06, 2022. 18:30. 

Chapter-18.  Moksha-sanyasa-yogam -19.

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Slokam-19.

"Jnanam karma cha karta cha tridhaiva guna-bhedatah

prochyate guna-sankhyane yathavach chhrinu tany api."

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Meaning :

jñānam—knowledge; 

karma—action; 

cha—and;

 kartā—doer; 

cha—also; 

tridhā—of three kinds; 

eva—certainly; 

guṇa-bhedataḥ—distinguished according to the three modes of material nature; 

prochyate—are declared; 

guṇa-saṅkhyāne—Sānkhya philosophy, which describes the modes of material nature; 

yathā-vat—as they are; 

śhṛiṇu—listen; 

tāni—them; 

api—also.

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Translation ;

BG 18.19: Knowledge, action, and the doer are declared to be of three kinds in the Sānkhya philosophy, distinguished according to the three modes of material nature. Listen, and I will explain their distinctions to you.

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Commentary :

Sri Krishna once again refers to the three modes of nature. In chapter 14, he had given an introduction about these modes, and described how they bind the soul to the samsara of life and death. Then in chapter 17, he went into great detail about how these three modes influence the kinds of faith people develop and also their choice of foods. He also explained the three categories of sacrifice, charity, and penance. Here, according to the three guṇas, the Lord will explain the three types of knowledge, action, and doers.

Amongst the six systems of thought in Indian philosophy, the Sānkhya philosophy (also called puruṣh prakṛiti vāda) is recognized as the authority in the matter of analysis of material nature. It considers the soul as the puruṣh (lord), and thus recognizes many puruṣhas. Prakṛiti is the material nature and includes all things made from it. Sānkhya states the cause for misery is the desire of the puruṣh to enjoy prakṛiti. When this enjoying propensity subsides, then the puruṣh is released from the bondage of material nature attains eternal beatitude. The Sānkhya system does not acknowledge the existence of the Param Puruṣh, or the Supreme Lord, and hence it is insufficient for knowing the Absolute Truth. However, in the matter of knowledge about prakṛiti (material nature), Shree Krishna refers to it as the authority.

Here Lord Krishna reiterates the path of sadhana or spiritual development and will explains in the next three verses the distinctions between the three gunas or modes of material nature. The science of attributes is the expertise in distinguishing the attributes and is clarified in the Sankhya philosophy of analytical deduction by Kapila-deva an incarnation of Lord Krishna.

Knowledge is understanding the action to be performed. The effort is the means and method to perform the action and included with the agent as the performer of the action. The phrase guna-sankhya refers to the Sankhya philosophy of analytical deduction by Lord Krishna's incarnation of Kapila- deva, which describes the characteristics of the three gunas or modes of material nature and their relationship to knowledge and agent as described in the next three slokas.

Now Lord Krishna describes the characteristics of the threefold factors of knowledge, the knowable and the knower on the basis of the three gunas or modes of material nature. Knowledge as the object of all actions can be explained as that which gives knowledge. The knowable is one who knows the means by which the action is accomplished. The knower is the one performing the action. These three are the essential elements and their characteristics and functions have been substantiated in the philosophy of Sankhya or analytical knowledge by Lord Krishna's avatar of Kapila-deva and will be elaborated upon in the next three slokas.

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To be continued ....

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