Bhagavad Gita BG 18.15

Chapter 18, Verse 15 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation

शरीरवाङ्मनोभिर्यत् कर्म प्रारभते नरः । न्याय्यं वा विपरीतं वा पञ्चैते तस्य हेतवः ॥

sharira-van-manobhir yat karma prarabhate narah nyayyam va viparitam va pancaite tasya hetavah

Meaning

Whatever action a person (narah) undertakes with body (sharira), speech (vak), or mind (manah) — whether right (nyayyam) or wrong (viparitam) — these five are its causes (hetavah).

Understanding

The application of the five-cause framework across all domains. Three modalities of action: sharira (bodily action), vak (speech), manah (mental action — intention, thought, imagination). All three are covered. Two moral categories: nyayyam (right, proper, in accordance with justice/dharma) and viparitam (wrong, contrary, opposed to dharma). The teaching extends to both: even wrong actions are produced by these five causes — the ego is not the sole determinant even in sin. This has profound ethical implications: it does not remove responsibility but it does contextualize it within the full causal web. The body that acted, the senses that were the instruments, the vital functions that propelled it, and the daivam that allowed the circumstances — all are causes alongside the karta.

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