Sanskrit
त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन । निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् ॥
traiguṇyaviṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna nirdvandvo nityasattvastho niryogakṣema ātmavān
Translation
The Vedas deal with the three attributes; be thou above these three attributes, O Arjuna; beyond the pairs of opposites, ever steadfast in purity, careless of possessions, full of the Self.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna’s own instruction, stated directly for the first time in this passage: go beyond the three guṇas the Vedic ritual system operates within altogether — beyond dualities like pleasure and pain, unconcerned with acquisition, grounded in the Self. This is the positive counterpart to the ritualists’ condition described in verses 42–44, and prepares the ground for the tank-and-flood analogy in the verse right after. Yoga-kṣema — “acquisition and preservation,” the whole economy of getting and holding — is what the instruction cancels; ātmavān, “self-possessed,” is what it puts in place. The three guṇas named here in passing become the entire subject of chapter 14.
Study deeper
Word by word
- traiguṇyaviṣayā vedāत्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा
- the Vedas deal with the three guṇas (traiguṇya-viṣayāḥ + vedāḥ)
- nistraiguṇyoनिस्त्रैगुण्यो
- be free of the three guṇas (nis-traiguṇyaḥ)
- bhavārjunaभवार्जुन
- become, Arjuna (bhava + arjuna)
- nirdvandvoनिर्द्वन्द्वो
- beyond the pairs of opposites (nir-dvandvaḥ)
- nityasattvasthoनित्यसत्त्वस्थो
- ever established in purity/being (nitya-sattva-sthaḥ)
- niryogakṣemaनिर्योगक्षेम
- unconcerned with getting and keeping (nir-yoga-kṣemaḥ)
- ātmavānआत्मवान्
- possessed of the Self (ātma-vān)
Commentary
Site Commentary
This verse stops arguing and starts describing — four qualities stacked in a single line with no supporting reason attached to any of them. After a whole passage built on justification (why ritualism fails, why single-pointedness matters), Krishna simply states what the alternative state looks like, as though the case has already been made and what’s needed now is a target to aim at, not another reason to aim at it.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Once you've convinced yourself of why a change is worth making, stop re-arguing it and instead write down concretely what the resulting state looks like — a clear target is more useful at that point than one more justification.
Professional
- Once a team agrees on why a change is needed, shift the conversation from justification to a concrete description of the target state — what "good" actually looks like day to day — since further arguing for the "why" past that point mostly delays defining the "what."
Family & Social
- Once you and someone else agree on why something needs to change in how you relate, spend the next conversation describing what the better version actually looks like in practice, rather than continuing to build the case for change.
Ask yourself
A few ways to take this verse past reading. Ticks and the note stay in this browser.