Bhagavad Gita BG 18.19
Chapter 18, Verse 19 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
ज्ञानं कर्म च कर्ता च त्रिधैव गुणभेदतः । प्रोच्यते गुणसंख्याने यथावच्छृणु तान्यपि ॥
jnanam karma ca karta ca tridhaiva guna-bhedatah procyate guna-sankhyane yathavac chrnu tany api
Meaning
Knowledge, action, and the doer are each declared to be of three kinds, according to the distinctions of the gunas. Hear of these too as they rightly are.
Understanding
The introductory verse to the three-guna analysis of jnana (knowledge), karma (action), and karta (doer): jnanam karma ca karta ca (knowledge, action, and doer). Tridhaiva guna-bhedatah (each are threefold, divided by the distinctions of the gunas — sattva, rajas, tamas). Procyate guna-sankhyane (declared in the enumeration/analysis of the gunas). Yathavac chrnu tany api (hear of these also as they rightly are — a classic transition phrase introducing the teaching). This verse opens the extended analysis of vv20-28 that categorizes knowledge, action, and doer each into sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic forms — the heart of Ch18's psychological teaching.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ज्ञानम् | jnanam | knowledge |
| कर्म | karma | action |
| कर्ता | karta | the doer, the agent of action |
| त्रिधा | tridha | in three ways, threefold |
| गुणभेदतः | guna-bhedatah | according to the distinctions of the gunas |
| गुणसंख्याने | guna-sankhyane | in the enumeration/analysis of the gunas (sankhyana = counting, analysis) |
| यथावत् | yathavat | as they rightly are, correctly, properly |
| ज्ञानम् | jñānam | knowledge |
| कर्म | karma ca | and action |
| कर्ता | kartā ca | and the doer |
| त्रिधा | tridhā eva | threefold only |
| गुण-भेदतः | guṇa-bhedataḥ | according to the divisions of modes |
| प्रोच्यते | procyate | is described |
| गुण-संख्याने | guṇa-sāṅkhyāne | in the enumeration of the modes |
| यथावत् | yathāvat | as they are |
| शृणु | śṛṇu | hear |
| तानि | tāni api | those also |
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