Bhagavad Gita BG 13.21
Chapter 13, Verse 21 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिरुच्यते । पुरुषः सुखदुःखानां भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते ॥
karya-karana-kartrtve hetuh prakrtir ucyate purushah sukha-duhkhanam bhoktrtve hetur ucyate
Meaning
Prakriti is said to be the cause of the production of causes and effects and of all action; Purusha is said to be the cause of the experiencing of pleasure and pain.
Understanding
A precise functional distinction: karya-karana-kartrtve hetuh prakrtir ucyate (Prakriti is the cause of karya-karana-kartrtva — cause-and-effect, action). All causation, all doing, all transformation belongs to Prakriti. Purushah sukha-duhkhanam bhoktrtve hetur ucyate (Purusha is the cause of experiencing pleasure and pain — the enjoying/suffering). This is the exact division: Prakriti DOES; Purusha EXPERIENCES. The confusion of the two is the root of bondage: thinking 'I (Purusha) am doing' (usurping Prakriti's role) or thinking 'Prakriti experiences' (giving experience to matter). Liberation is knowing: Prakriti acts, Purusha witnesses. The apparent doer-ship is Prakriti's; the experiencing is Purusha's; neither belongs to the other.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| कार्यकारण | karya-karana | cause and effect — the entire domain of causation |
| कर्तृत्वे | kartrtve | in being the doer, in agency, in action-making |
| भोक्तृत्वे | bhoktrtve | in being the experiencer, in enjoying/suffering |
| हेतुः | hetuh | cause, basis, ground |
| कार्य-कारण | kārya-kāraṇa | in effect and cause |
| कर्तृत्वे | kartṛtve | in the matter of doership |
| हेतुः | hetuḥ | the cause, the reason |
| प्रकृतिः | prakṛtiḥ | nature, matter |
| उच्यते | ucyate | is said to be |
| पुरुषः | puruṣaḥ | the spirit, the conscious being |
| सुख-दुःखानाम् | sukha-duḥkhānām | of pleasure and pain |
| भोक्तृत्वे | bhoktṛtve | in the matter of enjoying |
| हेतुः | hetuḥ | the cause |
| उच्यते | ucyate | is said to be |
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