Bhagavad Gita BG 18.14
Chapter 18, Verse 14 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
अधिष्ठानं तथा कर्ता करणं च पृथग्विधम् । विविधाश्च पृथक्चेष्टा दैवं चैवात्र पञ्चमम् ॥
adhisthanam tatha karta karanam ca prthag-vidham vividas ca prthak-cheshta daivam caivatra pancamam
Meaning
The seat/locus (adhisthana = body), also the doer (karta = ego-agent), the various kinds of instruments (karana = senses), the many different functions (ceshta = vital activities/efforts), and the divine as the fifth (daivam pancamam) — these are the five causes of action.
Understanding
The Sankhya five-cause analysis dismantles the ego's claim to be the sole doer of any action. Adhisthana (the base/foundation = the body): physical action requires a body — the doer did not create the body. Karta (the sense-of-doer = the I-am-the-agent): the ego-function that says 'I am doing this.' Karana (instruments = the senses — each sense organ is a distinct causal instrument). Prthak-ceshta (the various separate efforts = the vital activities, motor functions, and directing energies that coordinate action). Daivam pancamam (the divine as fifth = the mysterious over-arching order/destiny/grace — sometimes translated as 'fate' or 'the divine arrangement,' the factor that the individual does not control). Five causes cooperate to produce any action. The ego (karta) is just one of five. The teaching: 'I did this' is always a partial truth — four other causes were equally necessary.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| अधिष्ठानम् | adhisthanam | the base, seat, locus — here the body as the ground of action |
| कर्ता | karta | the doer, the agent-sense (the I-am-doing-this function) |
| करणम् | karanam | instrument, means of action — here the senses |
| चेष्टाः | cheshtah | efforts, activities, functions (from cheshta = movement, effort, activity) |
| दैवम् | daivam | the divine factor, fate, the over-arching order not controlled by the individual |
| अधिष्ठानम् | adhiṣṭhānam | the place, the seat |
| तथा | tathā | also |
| कर्ता | kartā | the doer |
| करणम् | karaṇam ca | and instruments |
| पृथग्-विधम् | pṛthag-vidham | of various kinds |
| विविधाः | vividhāḥ ca | and various |
| पृथक्-चेष्टाः | pṛthak-ceṣṭāḥ | separate endeavors |
| दैवम् | daivam ca eva | and divine fate |
| अत्र | atra | here |
| पञ्चमम् | pañcamam | the fifth |
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