सूत्रकृत्·Sūtrakṛt-Gītā
Ch 14 · Guṇatraya-Vibhāga-Yoga
← back to plaincompare14.2 →

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 14, Verse 1: Krishna to Arjuna — Guṇatraya-Vibhāga-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 14.1Chapter 14 · Guṇatraya-Vibhāga-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh
परं भूयः प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञानानां ज्ञानमुत्तमम् ।
यज् ज्ञात्वा मुनयः सर्वे परां सिद्धिमितो गताः ॥
paraṃ← para(58 verses)accusative neuter singular nounhighest, supreme, beyond, other bhūy← bhūyas(12 verses)more, again, abundantlyaḥ pravakṣyāmi← pra-√vac(18 verses)future indicative 1st person singular verbto declare (pra- + √vac 'speak forth')attested in commentariesadvaita। तच्च परं परवस्तुविषयत्वात्। किं तत् ज्ञानं सर्वेषां ज्ञानानाम् उत्तमम्, उत्तमफलत्वात्। ज्ञानानाम् इति न अमानित्वादीनामviśiṣṭādvaitaतत् च ज्ञानं सर्वेषां प्रकृतिपुरुषविषय ज्ञानानाम् उत्तमम् यद् ज्ञानं ज्ञात्वा सर्वे मुनयः तन्मननशीलाः इतः संसारमण्डलात्śuddhādvaitaविवृण्वन्वक्ष्यामीति प्रशब्दार्थःadvaita-bhaktiभूयः पुनः jñānānāṃ← jñāna(64 verses)genitive neuter plural nounknowledge, wisdom, cognition jñānam← jñāna(64 verses)accusative neuter singular nounknowledge, wisdom, cognitionattested in commentariesadvaitaइति व्यवहितेन संबन्धः, भूयः पुनः पूर्वेषु सर्वेष्वध्यायेषु असकृत् उक्तमपि प्रवक्ष्यामि uttamam← uttama(9 verses)accusative neuter singular nounhighest, best, supreme (superlative of ud)attested in commentariesadvaita, उत्तमफलत्वात्viśiṣṭādvaitaयद् ज्ञानं ज्ञात्वा सर्वे मुनयः तन्मननशीलाः इतः संसारमण्डलात् परां सिद्धिं गताः परिशुद्धात्मस्वरूपप्राप्तिरूपां सिद्धिमbhakti, मोक्षहेतुत्वात्
yaj jñātvā← jñā(22 verses)convto know (verbal root)attested in commentariesadvaitaयत् ज्ञानं ज्ञात्वा प्राप्य मुनयः संन्यासिनः मननशीलाः सर्वे परां सिद्धिं मोक्षाख्याम् इतः अस्मात् देहबन्धनात् ऊर्ध्वं गviśiṣṭādvaitaसर्वे मुनयः तन्मननशीलाः इतः संसारमण्डलात् परां सिद्धिं गताः परिशुद्धात्मस्वरूपप्राप्तिरूपां सिद्धिम् अवाप्ताः munayaḥ← muni(8 verses)nominative masculine plural nounsage, silent ascetic (from √man 'think')attested in commentariesadvaitaसंन्यासिनः मननशीलाः सर्वे परां सिद्धिं मोक्षाख्याम् इतः अस्मात् देहबन्धनात् ऊर्ध्वं गताः प्राप्ताःviśiṣṭādvaitaतन्मननशीलाः इतः संसारमण्डलात् परां सिद्धिं गताः परिशुद्धात्मस्वरूपप्राप्तिरूपां सिद्धिम् अवाप्ताःśuddhādvaitaपरां गुणातीतां मुक्तिं गताः, इतस्त्रैगुण्यात् sarve← sarva(138 verses)nominative masculine plural nounall, entireattested in commentariesbhaktiइतो देहबन्धनात्परां सिद्धिं गताः प्राप्ताःadvaita-bhaktiपरां सिद्धिं मोक्षाख्यां इतो देहबन्धनाद्गताः प्राप्ताः parāṃ← para(58 verses)accusative feminine singular nounhighest, supreme, beyond, other siddhim← siddhi(14 verses)accusative feminine singular nounperfection, attainment, success; supernatural power (yogic)attested in commentariesviśiṣṭādvaitaअवाप्ताः ito gatāḥ← √gam(20 verses)nominative masculine plural participle nounto go (verbal root)attested in commentariesadvaitaप्राप्ताःviśiṣṭādvaitaपरिशुद्धात्मस्वरूपप्राप्तिरूपां सिद्धिम् अवाप्ताःśuddhādvaita, इतस्त्रैगुण्यात्bhaktiप्राप्ताः
spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip
meaning

Krishna says: I will teach you once more the highest of all knowledge, by knowing which sages have left this world and reached the supreme attainment.

Bhāṣyakāra purports

  • Śaṅkaraadvaita

    Shankara reads 'param jnanam' (supreme knowledge) as expressly distinct from the subordinate knowledges of yajna and tapas — those yield results within samsara, whereas this knowledge has moksha (liberation) as its sole fruit. The word 'bhuyah' (again) acknowledges that the Lord has already expounded this knowledge repeatedly across prior chapters, yet re-states it to arouse the listener's discriminative longing (viveka). 'Munayah' (sages) are specifically sannyasins of contemplative disposition — by 'knowing' this they attained 'param siddhim' (supreme accomplishment), meaning release from the bondage of embodiment ('ito dehabandhanat'), not a higher heaven.

  • Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

    Ramanuja reads 'param' not as the formless Absolute but as knowledge concerning the inner reality of prakriti (matter) and purusha (spirit) together with the three gunas — a knowledge that is still within the prakriti-purusha domain yet highest among all such knowledges. Liberation here is 'parisuddhatmasvarupapraptirupa siddhi' (attainment of the soul's own purified essential form), not featureless dissolution. The 'munayah' (contemplative sages) who won this liberation did so by knowing the interrelation of fields and their knowing-subject, which disposes the soul for Bhagavan's grace. Ramanuja signals that a further qualification of this knowledge by its fruit will follow immediately.

  • Madhvadvaita

    Kṛṣṇa opens with *sādhanakṛjjñānadātre namaḥ* — salutation to the one who gives the knowledge that effects *sādhana* (the spiritual means). The verse announces *paraṃ jñānānāṃ jñānam uttamam*: knowledge supreme above all knowledges, by which *munayaḥ sarve parāṃ siddhim ito gatāḥ* — all sages have departed from this world to *parā siddhi* (the highest attainment). Madhva identifies that attainment not as dissolution into identity but as the purified *jīva*'s (*paratantra*, eternally dependent) eternal proximity to *svatantra* Hari, *bheda* (real distinction) between them remaining inviolate. The remaining five chapters expound *sādhanam* as their chief subject — *sādhanam prādhānyenotarair adhyāyair vakti*. The prior six chapters, beginning with the pledge *yoge tv imāṃ śṛṇu* (BG 2.39), established *karma-dhyāna-lakṣaṇaṃ jñānasādhanam* together with its obligatory adjuncts (*itikartavyatā*) such as renunciation of desire (*kāmavarjanādi*). The present chapter, working through what was named in 13.22 — *kāraṇaṃ guṇasaṅgo'sya* (the cause of the *jīva*'s bondage is its entanglement with the *guṇas*) — expands that *guṇasambandha* in detail and then declares the means of transcending it (*tadatyayasādhanam*). That the verse also touches *īśvaramāhātmya* (the Lord's sovereign greatness), as in *mama yonir mahad brahma* (14.3), does not displace *sādhanam* as the chapters' primary theme — *prādhānyena* qualifies the treatment as predominant, not exclusive.

  • Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

    Vallabha opens chapter 14 with two introductory mangalacharana verses framing the chapter's purpose: purusha is beginninglessly pure and unqualified (anadi, nirgunatva), while prakriti is beginninglessly stained by the three gunas. Someone who transcends these gunas even while involved in the manifest world is described here. The 'param jnanam' (supreme knowledge) is specifically 'acintya-shakti-mahima-purushottama-vishayaka tattva-jnanam' (knowledge of Purushottama whose glory is inconceivable power) — not impersonal Brahman-knowledge. Liberation is 'gunatitatam muktim' (freedom beyond the three gunas), attained from 'traigunya' (the triple-strand bondage) itself. Vallabha's Pushtimarga reading insists that even the munayah (sages) who 'went beyond' did so by Bhagavan's prasada (grace), not autonomous jnana.

  • Śrīdharabhakti

    Shridhara Svami frames chapter 14 as the Lord's refutation of the Samkhya idea that purusha and prakriti are independently self-subsistent — their conjunction is not autonomous but by Ishvara's will ('ishvarecchayaiva'). The 'param jnanam' (supreme teaching) being announced is described as 'paramarthanishtha' (established in ultimate truth) and 'mokshahetutva' (cause of liberation), setting it above the knowledges of tapas, karma, and ritual. 'Munayah' (those of contemplative nature) attained 'param siddhi' (supreme accomplishment) by 'praptya' — by arriving at this knowledge, understood devotionally as an 'upadesha' (instruction) given by Bhagavan out of grace. Shridhara's reading is clean of any major artifacts in the supplied bhashya.

  • Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

    Madhusudana Sarasvati explicitly positions this chapter as resolving three open questions left by chapter 13: (1) the dependence of the field-field-knower conjunction on Ishvara; (2) the nature of the gunas and how they bind; (3) the mode of liberation from 'bhutaprakriti' (elemental nature). He distinguishes 'param' (supreme, in the sense of 'having the highest object' — para-vastu-vishayatva) from 'uttama' (best in fruit — uttama-phalatvat), the two words describing two distinct excellences of this knowledge. Like Shankara, he excludes the amanitvadi (humility etc.) virtues from 'jnananam' here — those are antahkarana purifiers, not the jneya (to-be-known object) at stake. The munayah (sannyasin-sages) 'anushtaya' — not merely conceptually knowing but enacting — win 'param siddhi mokshakhya' (supreme accomplishment called moksha) from 'dehabandhanat' (embodied bondage).

Sūtrakṛt-Gītā · v1.0 · gita.ekrasworks.com