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Ch 3 · Karma-Yoga
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Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 3, Verse 33: Krishna to Arjuna — Karma-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 3.33Chapter 3 · Karma-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh
सदृशं चेष्टते स्वस्याः प्रकृतेर् ज्ञानवानपि ।
प्रकृतिं यान्ति भूतानि निग्रहः किं करिष्यति ॥
sadṛśaṃ← sadṛśa(4 verses)accusative neuter singular nounsimilar, like (sa- + dṛśa, from √dṛś 'see') ceṣṭate← √ceṣṭpresent indicative 3rd person singular verbto move, strive (verbal root)attested in commentariesadvaitaचेष्टां करोतिviśiṣṭādvaitaकुतः प्रकृतिं यान्ति भूतानि अचित्संसृष्टा जन्तवः अनादिकालप्रवृत्तवासनाम्śuddhādvaita। चेष्टायां प्रकृतिरेवानुगुणहेतुः। प्रकृतिमोहित एवाहमित्यभिज्ञ इति मनुते। न परोक्तमनुसन्धत्ते किं पुनर्वक्तव्यमज्ञ एवं भbhaktiकिं पुनर्वक्तव्यमज्ञश्चेष्टत इतिadvaita-bhaktiकिं पुनर्मूर्खः svasyāḥ← sva(21 verses)genitive feminine singular nounown, selfattested in commentariesadvaitaस्वकीयायाः प्रकृतेःviśiṣṭādvaitaप्रकृतेः प्राचीनवासनायाः सदृशं प्राकृतविषयेषुśuddhādvaitaपरिणतायाः प्रकृतेरनुरूपं चेष्टतेbhaktiस्वकीयायाः प्रकृतेः स्वभावस्य सदृशमनुरूपमेव गुणदोषज्ञानवानपि चेष्टते किं पुनर्वक्तव्यमज्ञश्चेष्टत इति prakṛte← prakṛti(28 verses)genitive feminine singular nounprimordial nature (pra- + √kṛ 'do' — 'that from which all is made')r jñānavān← jñānavat(3 verses)nominative masculine singular noun(jñāna + -vat: knowledge)attested in commentariesviśiṣṭādvaitaअपि स्वस्याः प्रकृतेः प्राचीनवासनायाः सदृशं प्राकृतविषयेषु api← api(103 verses)also, even, although
prakṛtiṃ yānti← √yā(25 verses)present indicative 3rd person plural verbto go (verbal root)attested in commentariesadvaitaअनुगच्छन्ति भूतानि प्राणिनःviśiṣṭādvaitaभूतानि अचित्संसृष्टा जन्तवः अनादिकालप्रवृत्तवासनाम्advaita-bhaktiअनुवर्तन्ते पुरुषार्थभ्रंशहेतुभूतामपि bhūtāni← bhūta(67 verses)nominative neuter plural nounbeing, creature; element; past, goneattested in commentariesadvaitaप्राणिनःviśiṣṭādvaitaअचित्संसृष्टा जन्तवः अनादिकालप्रवृत्तवासनाम्śuddhādvaitaसर्वाणि सात्विकराजसतामसानि स्वभावमनुवर्त्तन्ते वायुं तृणवत्advaita-bhaktiसर्वे प्राणिनः प्रकृतिं यान्ति अनुवर्तन्ते पुरुषार्थभ्रंशहेतुभूतामपि nigrahaḥ← nigraha(2 verses)nominative masculine singular nounrestraint, suppression (ni- + √grah)attested in commentariesadvaitaनिषेधरूपः किं करिष्यति मम वा अन्यस्य वाviśiṣṭādvaitaकिं करिष्यतिśuddhādvaitaशिक्षणं ऐन्द्रियो वा किं करिष्यति प्रकृतेः प्रबलत्वादित्यर्थःadvaita-bhaktiकिं करिष्यति kiṃ← ka(42 verses)accusative neuter singular nounwho? what? (interrogative) kariṣyati← √kṛ(35 verses)future indicative 3rd person singular verbto do, make (verbal root)attested in commentariesadvaitaमम वा अन्यस्य वाviśiṣṭādvaita।प्रकृत्यनुयायित्वप्रकारम् आहśuddhādvaitaप्रकृतेः प्रबलत्वादित्यर्थःbhaktiप्रकृतेर्बलिष्ठत्वादित्यर्थःadvaita-bhakti। रागौत्कठ्येन दुरितान्निवर्तयितुं न शक्नोतीत्यर्थः। महानरकसाधनत्वं ज्ञात्वापि दुर्वासनाप्राबल्यात्पापेषु प्रवर्तमाना न
spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip
meaning

Even a person of knowledge acts according to his own nature; all beings follow their nature. What will restraint accomplish?

Bhāṣyakāra purports

  • Śaṅkaraadvaita

    Even the jñānavān (one possessing knowledge of guṇa-doṣa distinctions) acts in conformity with his own prakṛti — defined here as the saṃskāra (accumulated conditioning from prior-life dharma and adharma) now expressed in the present birth. All creatures follow this current of prakṛti; the wise are not exempt, still less the mūrkha (fool). Śaṅkara presses the point dialectically: if universal prakṛti-conformity holds, does that not render śāstra (scriptural injunction) useless? — he flags this as the objection his next verse must answer, so nigraha (restraint) is not dismissed but situated.

    divergence: Śaṅkara: 'prakṛtir nāma pūrvakṛtadharmādharmasaṃskāraḥ vartamānajannmādau abhivyaktaḥ' — prakṛti is prior-life dharma/adharma conditioning, now manifest. The jñānavān acts accordingly; the śāstra-anarthakatva (purposelessness of scripture) concern is explicitly raised.

  • Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

    The jīva (individual soul), though scripturally instructed in its ātman-nature as distinct from acit (matter), still flows along the channel of prācīna-vāsanā (beginningless latent tendencies) and engages only with prākṛta-viṣaya (material objects). Rāmānuja specifies bhūtāni here as acit-saṃsṛṣṭa jantavaḥ — beings entangled with insentient matter — and their anādi-vāsanā (beginningless conditioning) is the driving force. Śāstrakṛta-nigraha (restraint imposed by scripture) therefore accomplishes little unless Bhagavān's grace activates the ātman's śeṣatva (servant-nature) directly.

    divergence: Rāmānuja: 'acitsaṃsṛṣṭā jantavaḥ anādikālapravṛttavāsanām eva yānti' — beings enmeshed with acit follow beginningless vāsanā; śāstrakṛta-nigraha cannot override this without divine support.

  • Madhvadvaita

    Madhva's bhāṣya is sparse here: 'prakṛtiḥ pūrvasaṃskāraḥ' — prakṛti is prior conditioning, full stop. For Dvaita, this verse functions as the concise doctrinal ground for why even the partially instructed jīva (eternally distinct from Hari, never self-sufficient) does not spontaneously follow śāstra: prior saṃskāra (conditioning) binds, and only Hari's independent icchā (will) can loosen it. Nigraha by human effort alone is insufficient; the jīva's dependence on Hari is the only leverage.

    divergence: Madhva's gloss is minimal — 'prakṛtiḥ pūrvasaṃskāraḥ' — but Dvaita doctrine fills the gap: jīva cannot overcome prakṛti through self-effort; Hari's will is the efficient cause. NOTE: Madhva commentary on 3.33 is extremely terse in the available payload.

  • Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

    Even the sāttvika-jñānavān — one possessing sāttvika śāstriya-jñāna (scriptural knowledge of sāttvika quality) — moves in the groove of his own paripakva (ripened) prakṛti like grass before wind. Vallabha specifies all beings as sāttvika/rājasa/tāmasa, each pulled by svabhāva (own nature); śikṣaṇa (instruction) and aindriya-nigraha (sense-restraint) alike are powerless against this force. The implication for Puṣṭi-mārga is clear: only Kṛṣṇa's prasāda (grace-gift), not self-discipline, can redirect prakṛti — the jīva's self-effort is structurally insufficient.

    divergence: Vallabha: 'bhūtāni sarvāṇi sāttvika-rājasa-tāmasāni svabhāvam anuvartante vāyuṃ tṛṇavat' — all beings follow their own nature like grass follows wind; nigraha as śikṣaṇa or sense-restraint 'kiṃ kariṣyati' given prakṛti's dominance.

  • Śrīdharabhakti

    Śrīdhara opens with the interlocutor's objection: if svadharma-niṣkāma-karma yields such great fruit, why do not all the wise practise it uniformly? The answer: prakṛti here is prācīna-karma-saṃskārādhīna-svabhāva — the character-tendency controlled by prior-karma conditioning. Even the guṇa-doṣa-jñānavān (one who knows merit and fault) acts in conformity with this svabhāva; the ajña (ignorant one) need not even be mentioned. Indriya-nigraha (sense-restraint) alone, without the deeper transformation of prior-saṃskāra, is therefore toothless.

    divergence: Śrīdhara: 'prakṛtiḥ prācīnakarmāsaṃskārādhīnasvabhāvaḥ... guṇadoṣajñānavān api ceṣṭate kiṃ punar vaktavyam ajñaś ceṣṭata iti' — explicit a-fortiori: if the informed person is bound, the ignorant one certainly is.

  • Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

    Madhusūdana defines prakṛti with full Vedāntic authority: prāgjanna-kṛta-dharma-adharma-jñāna-icchādi-saṃskāra — conditioning from prior-birth dharma, adharma, knowledge, and will — now manifest and 'sarvatobalavatī' (stronger than everything), backed by śruti-pramāṇa ('vidyā-karmaṇī samam ārabhete'). Even the brahma-vid (knower of Brahman), he says pointedly, acts no differently from paśu (cattle) in this respect — citing the principle 'paśvādibhiś cāviśeṣāt.' Even knowing great sin leads to naraka (hell), dur-vāsanā-prābhalya (the force of bad latent-tendency) drives the person onward, indifferent to divine command.

    divergence: Madhusūdana: 'brahmavidapi paśvādibhiś cāviśeṣāt... mahānarakasādhanatvaṃ jñātvāpi durvāsanāprābalyāt pāpeṣu pravartamānā' — the brahma-vid is not exempt; śruti confirms prior conditioning overrides present knowledge.

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