Bhagavad Gita BG 18.16
Chapter 18, Verse 16 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
तत्रैवं सति कर्तारम् आत्मानं केवलं तु यः । पश्यत्यकृतबुद्धित्वान् न स पश्यति दुर्मतिः ॥
tatraivam sati kartaram atmanam kevalam tu yah pashyaty akrta-buddhitvan na sa pashyati durmatih
Meaning
This being so (tatraivam sati), the person with impure/undeveloped intellect (akrta-buddhi) who sees the Self alone (atmanam kevalam) as the doer — that foolish one (durmatih) does not truly see.
Understanding
The direct rebuttal. 'Tatrai vam sati' (this being so — given the five-cause analysis just stated). Whoever still says 'atmanam kevalam' — the Self alone is the doer — is operating with akrta-buddhi (undeveloped, crude, immature understanding — akrta = not properly formed). Durmatih (one of bad/wrong intelligence — not an insult but a philosophical diagnosis). Na sa pashyati (does not truly see/perceive): the error is perceptual, not just intellectual — this person is not seeing reality correctly. The mistake is not marginal; it is the root source of ego-inflation and the claim of individual sovereignty that the Gita consistently deconstructs. Who sees correctly? The one who perceives all five causes, including the divine — and eventually the one who sees the witness-Self as distinct from the ego-doer (karta).
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| एवं सति | evam sati | this being so, this being the case, given this |
| केवलम् | kevalam | alone, only, exclusively |
| अकृतबुद्धित्वात् | akrta-buddhitvan | due to undeveloped intellect (akrta = unmade/crude, buddhi = intellect, tva = abstract noun suffix) |
| दुर्मतिः | durmatih | one of corrupted/wrong intelligence (dur = bad, mati = intelligence/mind) |
| न पश्यति | na pashyati | does not see (truly), does not perceive correctly |
| तत्र | tatra | there |
| कर्तारम् | kartāram | the doer |
| आत्मानम् | ātmānam | the self |
| केवलम् | kevalam tu | alone only |
| यः | yaḥ | who |
| पश्यति | paśyati | sees |
| अकृत-बुद्धित्वात् | akṛta-buddhitvāt | due to unintelligent understanding |
| न | na saḥ | that one does not |
| पश्यति | paśyati | see |
| दुर्मतिः | durmatiḥ | the perverted, the foolish |
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