BG 18.14 — Mokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 18.14Chapter 18 · Mokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

अधिष्ठानं तथा कर्ता करणं च पृथग्विधम् ।

विविधाश्च पृथक्चेष्टा दैवं चैवात्र पञ्चमम् ॥

adhiṣṭhānaṃ tathā kartā karaṇaṃ ca pṛthagvidham

vividhāśca pṛthakceṣṭā daivaṃ caivātra pañcamam

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Five things together produce every action: the body as the field, the doer, the instruments in their various kinds, the different movements of the vital forces, and fifth, the divine presence that presides over all.

ekras · bhāṣya

Adhishthanam — the body-locus. Karta — the agent. Karanam prithak-vidham — instruments of various kinds. Vividhah prithak cheshtah — manifold distinct vital movements. Daivam cha eva atra panchamam — and divine presence as the fifth.

Krishna names each cause: body, agent, instruments, vital movements, divine. The five together produce every action.

Shankara reads adhishthana as the body which serves as the locus of desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, cognition. Karta as the agent defined by the limiting adjunct of ego-sense, treated as enjoyer. Karana as the twelve instruments — sense-organs and action-organs. Cheshtah as the manifold vital movements — prana, apana, the rest. Daivam as the divinity presiding over each sense — Aditya for the eye and so on, but ultimately Ishvara. The five together exhaust every action's necessary conditions.

Madhusudana reads the five causes as anatma — non-self — material, maya-projected — precisely so that the Self's akartritva may be established and these causes renounced in understanding. The body is the locus for the display of desire, aversion, cognition. The doer is the ahamkara — the inner organ, also called buddhi or vijnana — which through limiting adjunct claims agency. The five-cause analysis is jnana-conducive: each cause when correctly identified as anatma releases the witness from false-doer-status.

Ramanuja reads five factors co-operating in every rightful or prohibited action of body, speech, mind: body as locus inhabited by jiva-atma; jiva-atma as knower-agent — the Brahma-sutras 'jno ata eva' and 'karta shastra-arthavattvat' establish jiva's agency; diverse instruments including five karmendriyas with manas; fivefold vital movements — prana, apana, samana, udana, vyana; and the antaryamin Paramatman as the fifth, who sanctions and ultimately enables every action. The bhakti-frame: the jiva is real agent, Bhagavan is the deeper agent who enables, both are real and ordered relationally.

Madhva reads the five causes as: deha as adhishthana; Vishnu Himself as the true karta, since He alone is the universal agent; indriya as karana; kriya — actions of hands and the like, including mental activity of meditation — as cheshta; and adrishta — unseen karmic residue — as daiva. For the bheda-frame, this is the most distinctive reading: the karta named in the verse is not the jiva but Hari, with the jiva's apparent agency being entirely dependent. The verse is read as foreclosing the jiva's claim to primary kartritva.

Vallabha reads five factors operating in lawful and prohibited actions of body, speech, mind: body as first basis; jiva-atma as agent endowed with self-sense — its kartritva real but entirely Brahma-gata, residing in it as amsha; manifold instruments; varied vital movements as cheshta; and daiva as the antaryamin Krishna sanctioning every act. The pushti-marga reading: each of the five is Krishna's lila-extension; the bhakta's recognition is that Krishna is the operative force in every register.

Shridhara reads the body — sharira — as adhishthana. The ahamkara — chid-jada-granthi, the knot of consciousness and inert matter — as karta. The manifold instruments such as eye, ear, the rest as karana. The operations of pranadi as cheshta. The fifth, daiva, as either the presiding sun-deity for the eye and corresponding deities for other senses, or the sovereign Ishvara overseeing the whole. The chapter's anatomical analysis is now complete.

Context

where

Chapter 18 · Mokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 18.13

Learn from me, Arjuna, the five causes that sāṅkhya names as the roots of every action; once you see them clearly, the claim that you alone are the doer falls away.

What's going on

Sūtras through this verse (113)

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

13.1Two niṣṭhās, three kāṇḍas — keystone.───→here18.14───→18.78Sealed: the means stands on the end stands.

RamsukhdasclassicalB

This human birth — your one chance to actbetween

15.7The self wears body as a costume.───→here18.14───→18.46Worship the One through your own work.

RāmānujaclassicalA

World as the Lord's body (antaryāmin)between

15.15I sit in every heart.───→here18.14───→18.46The cluster is recalled.

show all 113

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanabetween · other

12.20Mat-paramāḥ as upasaṃhāra───→here18.14───→18.66Take refuge in Me alone

MadhusūdanaclassicalC

Action purifies before knowing can landbetween

16.1The dispositions decide who can even begin.───→here18.14───→18.55Even hearing and reflecting need purity.

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingbetween

12.20Holding-Me-supreme seals the bhakti chapter.───→here18.14───→18.66Drop every duty; take refuge in Me alone.

MadhusūdanaclassicalE

Devotion is how knowing actually arrivesbetween

15.1Krishna is the ground, not a partner-god.───→here18.14───→18.55Bhakti is the engine of the highest knowing.

MadhusūdanaclassicalF

Every middle chapter opens with a bow to the teacherbetween

15.20The closing verse names Krishna as the supreme.───→here18.14───→18.78Vyāsa, Śaṅkara, and I: one lineage named.

MadhusūdanaclassicalH

Krishna with form is the ground beneath formless Brahmanbetween

15.1Chapter fifteen unfolds what fourteen sealed.───→here18.14───→18.66Final refuge in Me is final refuge in the ground.

MadhusūdanaclassicalI

Liberation while alive — the body finishes its runbetween

16.1The divine wealth becomes stable knowing in life.───→here18.14───→18.55Knowing burns ignorance; body burns its arc.

MadhusūdanaclassicalK

Arjuna's grief has two roots, not onebetween

11.1Arjuna marks the universal moha cured.───→here18.14───→18.73Confusion gone, memory gained — the cure complete.

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsexit

18.1Three kinds of renouncing, one for each grade.───→here18.14───→

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherexit

18.1At the very end, the line still holds.───→here18.14───→

MadhusūdanaclassicalJ

Two kinds of nature — divine and demonicexit

18.1Even renouncing splits into three by disposition.───→here18.14───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalB

Three hexads = tat tvam asibetween

15.20Whole teaching named guhyatamaṃ śāstram.───→here18.14───→18.78Colophon: three kāṇḍas, one śāstra.

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledbetween

12.12Bhakti's gradient is jijñāsu-relative.───→here18.14───→18.66Arjuna lacks formal saṃnyāsa-fitness.

ĀnandagiriclassicalE

Pūrvapakṣa via nanu / āśaṅkyabetween

13.1Boundary protected by stylized doubt.───→here18.14───→18.66Closing verse opened by doubt-and-answer.

ĀnandagiriclassicalI

Bhakti carries jñāna, never parallelbetween

12.20Closing the bhakti hexad on jñāna.───→here18.14───→18.66Surrender read inside the niṣṭhā-dvaya frame.

ĀnandagiriclassicalK

Upasaṃhāra — recap as instrumentbetween

15.20Whole śāstra named most-secret-teaching.───→here18.14───→18.66Final word read as the last upasaṃhāra.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalA

The carama-śloka as retroactive bracketbetween

16.5Mā śucaḥ already once before — same shape.───→here18.14───→18.46Worship-by-own-action fixes the ārādhya.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalB

Prapatti — bhakti's access for those the long path defeatsbetween

12.7I lift them out of saṃsāra's ocean.───→here18.14───→18.66The phala-vilamba grief is what 18.66 closes.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentbetween

15.17The Highest Person: disambiguation summit.───→here18.14───→18.46Worship by one's work reaches the indweller.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionbetween

9.33So much more — the sociological span widens.───→here18.14───→18.66The 'sarva' includes 9.32's whole span.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalE

Pūrva-pakṣa — name the rival, close the doorbetween

13.3Knower and field: the boundary is sharp.───→here18.14───→18.66Counterfeit reasonings named, then rejected.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

6.47The mad-gatena yogi: the carama-form here.───→here18.14───→18.66The carama-śloka extracts what's common.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalH

Mā śucaḥ — the inclusio of evolving griefbetween

16.5Daivī-asuric grief closed mid-text.───→here18.14───→18.66Final mā-śucaḥ closes the long-path grief.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalI

9.24 — the standing citation for ārādhyabetween

17.4The mode of worship reveals the worshipper.───→here18.14───→18.46Karma-yoga's act IS indweller-worship.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalJ

Sañjaya's frame — evidentiary, not ornamentalbetween

11.50Sañjaya names the viśva-rūpa as witness.───→here18.14───→18.74The frame closes: 'I heard this dialogue.'

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionbetween

6.24Renounce every desire born of will.───→here18.14───→18.49Free of longing everywhere — same goal.

RamsukhdasclassicalD

The three modes (sattva, rajas, tamas) at workbetween

17.2Even faith itself comes in three flavors.───→here18.14───→18.19Knowledge, action, doer, each one threefold.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

4.13The four orders are His own creation.───→here18.14───→18.41Each order's work is born of its nature.

RamsukhdasclassicalF

Surrender — the single shelterbetween

12.6Surrender every act, and He lifts you out.───→here18.14───→18.62Take refuge whole; grace is the road.

RamsukhdasclassicalG

Equanimity in everythingbetween

14.24Past the modes, equal in praise and blame.───→here18.14───→18.54The goal is just sameness toward all.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roombetween

12.12Even devotion holds its own gradient.───→here18.14───→18.66Devotion's flagship, and the closing door.

RamsukhdasclassicalI

The Lord already inside the heartbetween

15.15Seated in every heart; memory comes from Me.───→here18.14───→18.61He turns all beings mounted on a machine.

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here18.14───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsexit

18.1Final chapter compresses seed and answer.───→here18.14───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologyexit

18.1Tyāga and saṃnyāsa named distinct.───→here18.14───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalG

Anūdyate, na vidhīyateexit

17.2Threefold faith: tagged at this site.───→here18.14───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhiexit

18.1Tyāga = renouncing the relationship.───→here18.14───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalL

Akṣarayojanā — word-fit firstexit

18.1Final chapter opens with the same form.───→here18.14───→

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionexit

18.1Tyāga-question resolves ch. 16-17's typology.───→here18.14───→

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)exit

18.1Renouncing means cutting the false relationship.───→here18.14───→

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsexit

17.5Hard penance off-script is still demonic.───→here18.14───→

Ekrasmoderntrigunametry

Trigunametry — guṇas as embodied statesstation · v2 · station 2/9

───→here18.14───→

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Viṣṇu the prime moverstation · other · station 7/8

───→here18.14───→

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closestation

───→here18.14───→

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksstation

───→here18.14───→

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadstation

───→here18.14───→

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathbetween · v2

5.12Peace of the released───→here18.14───→18.46Work as worship

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterbetween · v2

9.22Yogakshema───→here18.14───→18.66Take refuge

Ekrasmodernbhakti

Bhakti — devotion pathbetween · v2

12.13Dear-bhakta description begins───→here18.14───→18.66Take refuge in Me alone

Ekrasmodernvairagya

Vairāgya — dispassion as instrumentbetween · v2

15.5Free of pride and delusion───→here18.14───→18.49Naishkarmya-siddhi

Ekrasmodernleadership

Leadership — svadharma in actionbetween · v2

3.25Wise act as the unwise act───→here18.14───→18.41Duties divided by guṇa

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvabetween · v2

13.20Prakriti causes, puruṣa enjoys───→here18.14───→18.16Wrong-seer fails the act

Ekrasmodernforgiveness

Forgivenessbetween · other

16.3Tejas, kṣamā, dhṛti───→here18.14───→18.42Brahmaṇa's kṣamā

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthabetween · other

6.1Soft sense of renouncer───→here18.14───→18.49Naishkarmya-siddhi by sannyāsa

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseasebetween

4.42Cut the heart's doubt with the sword of knowledge.───→here18.14───→18.66Grieve not — I free you from every sin.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downbetween

6.1The fire-keeper is renouncer only in a soft sense.───→here18.14───→18.49Action-freedom comes from full renunciation.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youbetween

5.2Each path bears fruit by its own working.───→here18.14───→18.66The combined-path view named and dismantled.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentbetween

5.6Renunciation is hard without yoga first.───→here18.14───→18.41Each order's work is born of its own nature.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemybetween

13.2One Self lights every body as one sun lights all.───→here18.14───→18.66Beginningless habit ends only with self-knowledge.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalI

The lover and the knower are one personbetween

12.20Living this teaching itself is the highest devotion.───→here18.14───→18.55Knowledge-standing IS the highest devotion.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

15.1The world-tree is the tree of the Kaṭha.───→here18.14───→18.66Renounce all dharmas — śruti ratifies.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalK

Liberation while still embodiedbetween

13.34One Self, untouched, in every body.───→here18.14───→18.49Action-freedom is standing in immediate liberation.

RāmānujaclassicalB

The śāstra is one bracket (2.12 → 18.66)between

11.1Arjuna confirms the bracket from inside.───→here18.14───→18.66The teaching closes with one command.

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)between

11.55Five clauses, one shelter: mat-karma-kṛt.───→here18.14───→18.46Worship by your own work.

RāmānujaclassicalE

Bhakti as continuous recollectionbetween

12.7I lift them across.───→here18.14───→18.65Recollection like sight: the final command.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerbetween

13.2Those who posit ajñāna in Brahman fail.───→here18.14───→18.61The yantrin reading forecloses the residue.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyabetween

15.4Find the Origin and take refuge in him.───→here18.14───→18.62Take refuge whole-being.

RāmānujaclassicalI

Vibhūti as evidence for antaryāminbetween

13.2The whole vibhūti clinches sāmānādhikaraṇya.───→here18.14───→18.42Even brāhmaṇa grounded here.

RāmānujaclassicalJ

Śeṣa-śeṣī · pati-vrata similebetween

12.7I lift him across.───→here18.14───→18.65You are dear to Me — I promise.

RāmānujaclassicalK

Tri-guṇa diagnostic for the bhaktabetween

18.7Wrong renunciation.───→here18.14───→18.19Each instrument threefold.

MadhvaclassicalT9

Devotion and grace — what knowledge cannot do alonebetween

12.5The personal route is easier — by design.───→here18.14───→18.66Drop every refuge, take the One refuge.

MadhvaclassicalT11

Only revealed scripture decides — reason alone cannotbetween

15.15The Veda's whole knowable is named as Hari.───→here18.14───→18.66The closing verdict is sealed by its own authority.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirebetween

17.14'Worship of gods' is worship of the One.───→here18.14───→18.65'Me' at the end carries fifteen chapters of gloss.

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlybetween

12.20The dear devotee holds the teaching fast.───→here18.14───→18.66Drop every duty; take refuge in Me alone.

VallabhaclassicalB

Grace alone — the technical markbetween

14.26Beyond the modes is grace-rooted love.───→here18.14───→18.66Final verse — pure grace, nothing else.

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedbetween

18.1The closing chapter reopens this question.───→here18.14───→18.66Drop only rival worships, never your nature.

VallabhaclassicalF

Soul as part of the highest Personbetween

15.15The Lord seated in every heart is the witness.───→here18.14───→18.55By love alone the soul knows what and whose it is.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractbetween

12.1The object of love is the puruṣottama himself.───→here18.14───→18.65The chariot-driving Lord is the calf-affection ocean.

VallabhaclassicalH

Stilling the mind — into the Lordbetween

12.14Steady, restrained, mind and intellect bound to Me.───→here18.14───→18.66The avatāra exists for the sake of total mind-rest.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridbetween

15.7Three Brahmasūtras quoted in the soul-as-part verse.───→here18.14───→18.55The Nibandha's sevā-section names the means.

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementexit · other

16.22Released from the three gates───→here18.14───→

RāmānujaclassicalC

Three ṣaṭkas (1–6 / 7–12 / 13–18)exit

18.1The closing chapter gathers all questions.───→here18.14───→

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-ruleexit

17.23Oṃ-tat-sat names the Lord, three times.───→here18.14───→

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsexit

18.2The ritualists' śruti fixes the closing definition.───→here18.14───→

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesexit

18.1Closing chapter's prelude seals the program.───→here18.14───→

VallabhaclassicalJ

Strategic silence — pointers, not absencesexit

17.12The threefold yajña/dāna/tapas catalogue is skipped.───→here18.14───→

ŚrīdharaclassicalA

The Gītā as raft across griefbetween

13.2For their rescue, truth-knowledge is uttered.───→here18.14───→18.66I shall release you from every wrong.

ŚrīdharaclassicalB

The Lord descends out of compassionbetween

11.43Teacher, and teacher's teacher beyond compare.───→here18.14───→18.64Hear the supreme word spoken because dear.

ŚrīdharaclassicalC

Devotion is both the way and the homebetween

14.26Unwavering love fits one for brahman.───→here18.14───→18.55Through love alone I am known in truth.

ŚrīdharaclassicalF

The Lord inside as inner rulerbetween

15.15Seated in every heart; memory comes from Me.───→here18.14───→18.62Let go of self-claim; take refuge there.

ŚrīdharaclassicalG

Soul as His portion, neither cut nor identicalbetween

15.7The soul is My portion, wrapped in unknowing.───→here18.14───→18.55He enters Me; he is not absorbed away.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned alonebetween

10.11I dispel the dark of unknowing for them.───→here18.14───→18.65By My grace, you reach Me through what is given.

ŚrīdharaclassicalL

Chapter prefaces as the bhāṣya's spineexit

18.1The eighteenth gathers the whole Gītā in one.───→here18.14───→

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsbetween

17.15Mantra and speech. 'Anudvega-karam vakyam satyam priya-hitam cha yat, svadhyaya-───→here18.14───→18.61Astrology-as-externalizer and karma-as-frame for why-bad-things-happen. 'Ishvara

Gauravmodernheart_leadership

Heart Leadershipbetween

12.14'Santushtah satatam yogi yatatma dridha-nishchayah.' Always content, self-contro───→here18.14───→18.61'Ishvarah sarva-bhutanam hrid-deshe'rjuna tishthati.' The Lord stands in the hea

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologybetween

13.27'Samam sarveshu bhuteshu tishthantam parameshvaram.' The same Lord seated equal ───→here18.14───→18.46'Yatah pravrittir bhutanam yena sarvam idam tatam, sva-karmana tam abhyarchya si

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handbetween

11.32Wrist, kalai. Kala, time. 'Kalo'smi loka-kshaya-krit pravriddhah.' Gaurav arrive───→here18.14───→18.47Pointing finger. Svadharma. 'Shreyan svadharmo vigunah para-dharmat svanushthita

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

13.27Atman / Brahman pillar. 'Samam sarveshu bhuteshu tishthantam parameshvaram.' The───→here18.14───→18.66Closing pillar in the longer CHI deliveries. 'Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionbetween

11.55See the world as Śiva's own body.───→here18.14───→18.73Confusion gone — but Anugītā still waits.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalE

Field and field-knower as Parameśvarabetween

15.16Two persons inside the field, one beyond.───→here18.14───→18.61He turns all beings like a great machine.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalG

Saṃvit: one referent under many namesbetween

12.5Every 'Me' from Krishna is Śiva-consciousness speaking.───→here18.14───→18.62Three names yoked — one referent sealed.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalH

Bhakti as non-dual recognitionbetween

12.2Two paths reconciled — one gracious face.───→here18.14───→18.65Four parallel ways of saying one thing.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalI

Anugraha: grace as the active powerbetween

11.35By grace-nature, the secret discloses itself.───→here18.14───→18.62Peace by grace — never by accumulation of work.

Gauravmoderncivilizational_air_conditioning

Civilizational Air Conditioningexit

16.21'Tri-vidham narakasyedam dvaram nashanam atmanah, kamah krodhas tatha lobhah.' T───→here18.14───→

AbhinavaguptaclassicalF

Three guṇas: contractions of one consciousnessexit

17.2Even faith is graded through the three.───→here18.14───→

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedbetween

15.16Refusing kṣara=inert, akṣara=soul.───→here18.14───→18.66Drop varṇāśrama too is blocked here.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitbetween

12.20Dear devotee is at the apex.───→here18.14───→18.66All-dharma surrender is the apex grade.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availablebetween

15.16Bhūta covers jīva; literal range holds.───→here18.14───→18.66Dharma as upalakṣaṇa of its own results.

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyaexit

18.1Renunciation closes; threads converge.───→here18.14───→

JayatīrthaclassicalH

Pūrva-pakṣa explicit — nanu / iti cet / ity ata āhaexit

18.11No full renouncer; tyāga is of fruit.───→here18.14───→

Śabda · lemmas (13 unique · 15 occurrences)

कर्ता kartṛ — doer, agent (from √kṛ) · nominative masculine singular noun
पृथक् pṛthak — separately, distinctly, apart
पृथग्विधम् pṛthagvidha — of various kinds (pṛthak + vidha) · nominative neuter singular noun
पञ्चमम् pañcama — fifth (ordinal) · nominative neuter singular noun

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च ca ×3 — and; (homonym: also the consonant ca)
अधिष्ठानम् adhiṣṭhāna — basis, support, seat (adhi- + √sthā 'stand') · nominative neuter singular noun
तथा tathā — thus, in that manner; likewise
करणम् karaṇa — instrument, organ, means; act of doing · nominative neuter singular noun
विविधाः vividha — (vi- + vidha: kind) · nominative feminine plural noun
चेष्टाः ceṣṭā — effort, activity (from √ceṣṭ) · nominative feminine plural noun
दैवम् daiva — divine; fate, destiny · nominative neuter singular noun
एव eva — indeed, truly, only (emphatic particle)
अत्र atra — here, in this place

Praśna · so what (7)

01If the Paramatma's sanction (as Ramanuja insists) is the indispensable fifth cause, what does that imply for how we attribute praise or blame to a person who acts well or badly?
02Madhva assigns kartritva to Vishnu alone and treats the jiva as non-agent — how should a practitioner hold personal responsibility for ethical failure if ultimate agency belongs to Hari?

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03Shankara lists the presiding solar deity as the fifth cause while Vallabha insists it is Krishna as antaryami — is this a difference in metaphysics, in emphasis, or in pedagogical intent for different adhikaris (qualified seekers)?
04The verse catalogs body, ahamkara, instruments, vital airs, and daiva as joint causes — when does awareness of this fivefold structure reduce anxiety about outcomes, and when might it become a rationalization for inaction?
05Madhusudana wants each of the five causes recognized as anatma precisely to dissolve the identification with agency — what practice or moment of inquiry would make that recognition real rather than merely intellectual?
06Ramanuja insists that acknowledging Paramatma as the primary cause does not void the injunctions of scripture ('kritaprayatnapekshastu') — how do you hold the tension between ultimate dependence on grace and the full seriousness of personal effort?
07The five causes span the gross (body), subtle (inner organ, vital airs), and supramundane (presiding deities / Paramatman) — what is gained in practice by seeing a single action as simultaneously operating at all three levels?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you notice yourself flooded with pride after a success or shame after a failure, recall that body, ahamkara, instruments, pranas, and presiding conditions all co-operated — none of them is 'you' as the witness-Self. Use the moment of strong attribution ('I did this') as the exact entry-point for vichara: 'Who is this I that claims the doing?' The five causes dissolve the isolated agent and point back to the pure awareness that observed them all.

Dvaita

When you feel the urge to take sole credit for an outcome or to despair that your capacities are too limited, remember that Vishnu is the true karta and you are an instrument through whom He works. This is not passivity — Madhva insists the jiva must put in its effort — but it removes the ego-inflation and ego-collapse that come from imagining you are the independent author. Surrender the result to Hari; put full energy into the instrument-work that is yours.

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Bhakti

Sridhara's reading keeps both doors open: the presiding deity of each sense organ (sun for the eye, directions for the ear) and the inner controller who drives all. In daily life this means honoring both the outer conditions that make your capacities work (health, environment, relationships) and the invisible mover within. Gratitude aimed only inward or only outward is partial; aim it at the whole fivefold system and something softens in the habitual sense of isolated selfhood.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusudana's synthesis: use the five-cause analysis as a daily dis-identification practice. When you catch yourself in a story ('I am the one who...), mentally name each cause — body acted, ahamkara claimed it, instruments executed it, vital energy powered it, conditions enabled it — and ask: where in that list is the real 'I'? As the falseness of each layer becomes vivid, what remains is the witness. That witness can love Krishna without the burden of needing to be the doer.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

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weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 18, Verse 14: Krishna to Arjuna — Mokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga