Bhagavad Gita
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तत्त्ववित्तु महाबाहो गुणकर्मविभागयोः। गुणा गुणेषु वर्तन्त इति मत्वा न सज्जते।।3.28।।
Verse Audio
tattva-vit tu mahā-bāho guṇa-karma-vibhāgayoḥ guṇā guṇeṣhu vartanta iti matvā na sajjate
Core Philosophical Concepts
leadership by example
loka-sangraha
detachment
teaching through action
offering actions
Word-by-Word Meanings
tattva-vit (tattva-vit)the knower of the Truth; tu (tu)but; mahā-bāho (mahā-bāho)mighty-armed one; guṇa-karma (guṇa-karma)from guṇas and karma; vibhāgayoḥ (vibhāgayoḥ)distinguish; guṇāḥ (guṇāḥ)modes of material nature in the shape of the senses, mind, etc; guṇeṣhu (guṇeṣhu)modes of material nature in the shape of objects of perception; vartante (vartante)are engaged; iti (iti)thus; matvā (matvā)knowing; na (na)never; sajjate (sajjate)becomes attached;
Translation (English)

But he who knows the Truth, O mighty-armed Arjuna, about the divisions of the qualities and their functions, knowing that the Gunas, as senses, move amidst the Gunas, as the sense-objects, is not attached.

Translation (Hindi)

।।3.28।। परन्तु हे महाबाहो ! गुण और कर्म के विभाग के सत्य (तत्त्व)को जानने वाला ज्ञानी पुरुष यह जानकर कि "गुण गुणों में बर्तते हैं" (कर्म में) आसक्त नहीं होता।।

Verse Summary(English)

But he who knows the Truth, O mighty-armed Arjuna, about the divisions of the qualities and their functions, knowing that the Gunas, as senses, move amidst the Gunas, as the sense-objects, is not attached. It expands Karma Yoga as disciplined action for individual clarity and collective order.

Verse Summary(Hindi)

परन्तु हे महाबाहो ! गुण और कर्म के विभाग के सत्य (तत्त्व)को जानने वाला ज्ञानी पुरुष यह जानकर कि "गुण गुणों में बर्तते हैं" (कर्म में) आसक्त नहीं होता।। यह शिक्षण बताता है कि ज्ञानी को लोकसंग्रह के लिए निष्काम भाव से कर्म करते हुए उदाहरण स्थापित करना चाहिए।

This verse of Chapter 3 advances Krishna's teaching on Karma Yoga through a practical lens. It says: But he who knows the Truth, O mighty-armed Arjuna, about the divisions of the qualities and their functions, knowing that the Gunas, as senses, move amidst the Gunas, as the sense-objects, is not attached.. The key themes include leadership by example, loka-sangraha, detachment, teaching through action. Krishna is not proposing passivity; he is refining the motive and orientation of action. The verse shows that the real challenge is not whether we act, but how we act. When action is driven by possession, fear, or reward, it binds the mind. When action is performed as duty, with discipline and offering, it purifies intention and stabilizes understanding. Chapter 3 repeatedly insists that right action can become a spiritual practice when egoic ownership is reduced. For serious practice, this verse asks us to examine our inner posture before acting. Are we acting for status, control, and anxiety relief, or from responsibility and clarity. The Gita's practical answer is to keep acting, but to align action with dharma, reduce attachment to outcomes, and cultivate inner steadiness.

In Gita 3.28, Krishna deepens the architecture of Karma Yoga by relocating the center of action from egoic claim to dharmic clarity. The verse states: But he who knows the Truth, O mighty-armed Arjuna, about the divisions of the qualities and their functions, knowing that the Gunas, as senses, move amidst the Gunas, as the sense-objects, is not attached.. Its Sanskrit frame, "तत्त्ववित्तु महाबाहो गुणकर्मविभागयोः।", situates the teaching within lived conflict rather than abstract speculation, and foregrounds leadership by example; loka-sangraha; detachment. From a non-dual perspective, the verse undermines identification with the compulsive doer by showing how attachment to result manufactures bondage. A devotional reading complements this by treating action as offering, where agency is disciplined through remembrance and surrender rather than self-assertion. An ethical-political reading adds that Karma Yoga is not private asceticism alone; it sustains social coherence through responsible participation, especially when others model their conduct on visible actors. The verse therefore belongs to a larger synthesis: knowledge clarifies what is real, disciplined action reshapes habit, and devotion softens appropriation. Chapter 3 is radical precisely because it refuses both escapist renunciation and desire-driven activism. It asks for lucid engagement: to act fully in prakritic conditions while refusing psychological captivity to gain, loss, praise, blame, and personal myth. In contemplative terms, this verse is an invitation to examine the subtle motive-force behind every action, and to transform compulsion into consecrated duty. This transformation is the hinge between moral effort and spiritual freedom: the same action that once reinforced ego can become a vehicle of purification when intention, discernment, and offering are integrated.

इस श्लोक में श्रीकृष्ण कर्मयोग की शिक्षा को व्यावहारिक रूप में स्पष्ट करते हैं। श्लोक का भाव है: परन्तु हे महाबाहो ! गुण और कर्म के विभाग के सत्य (तत्त्व)को जानने वाला ज्ञानी पुरुष यह जानकर कि "गुण गुणों में बर्तते हैं" (कर्म में) आसक्त नहीं होता।।। इसका केंद्र leadership by example, loka-sangraha, detachment, teaching through action जैसे विषय हैं, जिनके माध्यम से गीता यह बताती है कि सही कर्म केवल बाहरी गतिविधि नहीं, बल्कि सही आंतरिक दृष्टि भी है। कर्म से भागना समाधान नहीं है, क्योंकि मनुष्य प्रकृति के प्रभाव में निरंतर किसी न किसी प्रकार से कर्म करता ही है। मुख्य प्रश्न यह है कि कर्म का आधार क्या है: अहंकार, फल-लालसा और असुरक्षा, या कर्तव्य, विवेक और समत्व। जब कर्म को यज्ञभाव और उत्तरदायित्व से किया जाता है, तब वही कर्म मन को शुद्ध करता है और बुद्धि को स्थिर बनाता है। जीवन में यह शिक्षण बहुत उपयोगी है। परिवार, कार्यक्षेत्र और समाज में निर्णय लेते समय हमें देखना चाहिए कि हमारा कर्म केवल लाभ के लिए है या व्यापक हित और धर्म के लिए। कर्मयोग का सार है: कर्म करते रहना, पर फल पर अधिकार-बोध छोड़ना; अपने दायित्व को ईमानदारी से निभाना, पर मन को आसक्ति से मुक्त करना।

Verse
3.28