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Ch 3 · Karma-Yoga
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Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 3, Verse 27: Krishna to Arjuna — Karma-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 3.27Chapter 3 · Karma-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh
प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः ।
अहंकारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥
prakṛteḥ← prakṛti(28 verses)genitive feminine singular nounprimordial nature (pra- + √kṛ 'do' — 'that from which all is made')attested in commentariesadvaitaप्रकृतिः प्रधानं सत्त्वरजस्तमसां गुणानां साम्यावस्था तस्याः प्रकृतेः गुणैः विकारैः कार्यकरणरूपैः क्रियमाणानि कर्माणिलौकviśiṣṭādvaitaगुणैः सत्त्वादिभिः स्वानुरूपं क्रियमाणानि कर्माणि प्रति अहंकारविमूढात्मा अहं कर्ता इति मन्यतेdvaitaक्रियमाणानि इति श्लोकद्वयस्यास्फुटत्वात्तात्पर्यमाह विद्वदि ति kriyamāṇāni← √kṛ(35 verses)accusative neuter plural present participle pass verbto do, make (verbal root)attested in commentariesadvaitaकर्माणिलौकिकानि शास्त्रीयाणिviśiṣṭādvaitaकर्माणि प्रति अहंकारविमूढात्मा अहं कर्ता इति मन्यतेdvaitaइति श्लोकद्वयस्यास्फुटत्वात्तात्पर्यमाह विद्वदि तिśuddhādvaitaकर्मामि कर्त्ताऽहं पुरुष इति मन्यते विपरीतमतिःbhaktiयानि कर्माणि तान्यहमेव कर्ता करोमीति मन्यसेadvaita-bhaktiलौकिकानि वैदिकानि guṇaiḥ← guṇa(35 verses)instrumental masculine plural nounquality, attribute (esp. the three guṇas: sattva/rajas/tamas)attested in commentariesadvaitaविकारैः कार्यकरणरूपैः क्रियमाणानि कर्माणिलौकिकानि शास्त्रीयाणिviśiṣṭādvaitaसत्त्वादिभिः स्वानुरूपं क्रियमाणानि कर्माणि प्रति अहंकारविमूढात्मा अहं कर्ता इति मन्यते karmāṇi← karman(144 verses)accusative neuter plural nounaction, deed, the law of actionattested in commentariesviśiṣṭādvaitaप्रति अहंकारविमूढात्मा अहं कर्ता इति मन्यतेśuddhādvaitaक्रियन्ते न केवलेनात्मनेतिbhaktiतान्यहमेव कर्ता करोमीति मन्यसेadvaita-bhaktiसर्वशः सर्वप्रकारैरहंकारेण कार्यकारणसंघातात्मप्रत्ययेन विमूढः स्वरूपविवेकासमर्थ आत्मान्तःकरणं यस्य सोऽहंकारविमूढात्माऽन sarv← sarvaśas(8 verses)in every way, completelyaśaḥ
ahaṃkāra← ahaṃkāra(9 verses)compound (compound member)ego-sense, the I-maker-vimūḍh← vi-√muh(7 verses)compound participle (compound member)to be utterly deluded (vi- + √muh)attested in commentariesviśiṣṭādvaitaआत्मा यस्य असौ अहंकारविमूढात्मा अहंकारो नाम अनहमर्थे प्रकृतौ अहम् इति अभिमानः तेन अज्ञातात्मस्वरूपो गुणकर्मसु अहं कर्ताbhaktiआत्मा बुद्धिर्यस्य सःātmā← ātman(114 verses)nominative masculine singular nounthe Self, soul; one's own self kartāham← √kṛ(35 verses)future indicative peri 1st person singular verbto do, make (verbal root) iti← iti(73 verses)thus (quotative particle) manyate← √man(25 verses)present indicative 3rd person singular verbto think, regard, consider (verbal root)attested in commentariesadvaita।।यः पुनर्विद्वान्viśiṣṭādvaita। अहंकारेण विमूढ आत्मा यस्य असौ अहंकारविमूढात्मा अहंकारो नाम अनहमर्थे प्रकृतौ अहम् इति अभिमानः तेन अज्ञातात्मस्वरूपो गुणdvaitaइति कथमुच्यते इत्यत आह न ही तिśuddhādvaitaविपरीतमतिःadvaita-bhaktiकर्त्रध्यासेन
spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip
meaning

Nature's three qualities do all the work in every action, but the soul tangled in ego mistakes itself for the doer.

Bhāṣyakāra purports

  • Śaṅkaraadvaita

    All actions are performed in every manner by the modifications of prakṛti — the instruments of body and mind (kārya-karaṇa) born of the guṇas — while the ātman remains the unchanging witness. The one whose inner organ (antaḥkaraṇa) is thoroughly deluded (vimūḍha) by ahaṅkāra, the false self-identification with the aggregate of instruments, superimposes their activity onto the pure Self and declares 'I am the doer.' Śaṅkara is explicit: this kartṛtva-abhimāna (doer-conceit) is a function of avidyā, not a property of ātman, which is ever akartā (non-agent) — the knower (vidvān) sees through it.

  • Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

    Rāmānuja reads ahaṅkāra not as mere epistemic error but as a specific ontological confusion: taking the self — which is a mode (prakāra) of Bhagavān — to be an independent agent rather than an instrument-body (śarīra) of the Lord. The guṇas of sattva, rajas, and tamas act according to their own nature (svānurūpam) and produce actions; the jīva who has forgotten its śarīra-ātma-bhāva with Īśvara misattributes their output as 'my doing.' Correct knowledge restores the jīva to its proper station as kainkarya (servant-instrument), erasing false kartṛtva without erasing the jīva's real personal agency as a dependent mode.

  • Madhvadvaita

    Madhva sharply distinguishes the knowing (vidvān) and non-knowing (avidvān) agents: the indriyādi (senses and their faculties), which are guṇa-manifestations of prakṛti, perform all acts — and because the jīva is a pratibimba (reflection), it cannot independently act (na hi pratibimbasya kriyā). The deluded jīva, tethered to prakṛti, misidentifies with these reflective instruments and claims 'I act,' whereas Hari alone is the supreme kartā behind every motion. Dvaita's polemical point: the jīva's kartṛtva is real but always derivative — to claim primary agency is precisely the vimūḍhatā (confusion) Kṛṣṇa diagnoses.

  • Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

    Vallabha reads this verse through Sāṅkhya cosmology as sanctioned by the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Puruṣottama himself bifurcated as kartṛ-prakṛti and bhoktṛ-puruṣa, yet the jīva attached to indriya-bound guṇas (indriya-niṣṭhā guṇā viṣaya-guṇeṣu vartante) mistakes itself for the independent agent. The one who knows the vibhāga-tattva (the principle of real distinction between Kṛṣṇa's līlā-will and jīva-activity) does not get entangled — like a lotus leaf untouched by water (puṣkara-palāśa-vat). For Vallabha, erroneously claiming independent kartṛtva is to miss that every action is Kṛṣṇa's prasāda-play, not one's own accomplishment.

  • Śrīdharabhakti

    Śrīdhara frames the verse as answering a prior objection: if both the wise and the unwise must perform action, what is the difference? The answer: the unwise person, whose buddhi (antaḥkaraṇa) is deluded (vimūḍha) by ahaṅkāra — meaning superimposition (adhyāsa) of ātman onto the indriyādi — believes 'I myself am the one acting.' The indriya, which are products of prakṛti's guṇas, perform all acts in every respect (sarvaprakāreṇa); the wise person sees this and is free of kartṛtva-abhimāna, while the unwise bind themselves to karma precisely by that false claim.

  • Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

    Madhusūdana identifies prakṛti here as māyā — the pāramaiśvarī śakti composed of sattva-rajas-tamas, the mithyājñāna-ātmikā power of Maheśvara ('māyāṃ tu prakṛtiṃ vidyān māyinaṃ tu maheśvaram'). The kārya-kāraṇa-rūpa modifications of this māyā perform all worldly and Vedic actions entirely (sarvaprakāraiḥ); the ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā is the one whose antaḥkaraṇa cannot discriminate self from non-self (svarūpa-viveka-asamartha), and so superimposes the doership of māyā's instruments onto pure consciousness. For Madhusūdana, the cure is not world-renunciation alone but Kṛṣṇa-bhakti that dissolves the ahaṅkāra-grip from within.

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