Sanskrit
प्रकृतेर्गुणसम्मूढाः सज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु । तानकृत्स्नविदो मन्दान्कृत्स्नविन्न विचालयेत् ॥
prakṛter guṇasammūḍhāḥ sajjante guṇakarmasu tān akṛtsnavido mandān kṛtsnavin na vicālayet
Translation
Those deluded by the qualities of nature are attached to the functions of the qualities. The man of perfect knowledge should not unsettle the foolish whose knowledge is imperfect.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
This restates verse 26’s pastoral caution, but now grounded in the guna framework just laid out rather than in the earlier lokasangraha argument — don’t unsettle those whose knowledge is partial, a repeated theme that treats intellectual patience toward the less advanced as itself part of the wise person’s discipline. The pairing of kṛtsna-vit (knower of the whole) and akṛtsna-vit (knower of only a part) makes the point structural: the fully-seeing person owes restraint to the partly-seeing one. Disturbing a working half-understanding, before a fuller one can replace it, is a disservice.
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Word by word
- prakṛter guṇasammūḍhāḥप्रकृतेः गुणसंमूढाः
- those deluded by nature's guṇas (prakṛteḥ + guṇa-sammūḍhāḥ)
- sajjante guṇakarmasuसज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु
- are attached to the guṇas' actions (sajjante + guṇa-karmasu)
- tān akṛtsnavido mandānतान् अकृत्स्नविदो मन्दान्
- them, of incomplete knowledge, dull (tān + a-kṛtsna-vidaḥ + mandān)
- kṛtsnavin na vicālayetकृत्स्नविन् न विचालयेत्
- let not the knower of the whole unsettle (kṛtsna-vit + na + vicālayet)
Commentary
Site Commentary
This is the second time in nine verses the chapter has told the wise not to unsettle the less advanced — first from the lokasangraha argument in verse 26, now from the guna-metaphysics just laid out. The repetition under a different framework isn’t padding; it’s the text betting that a lesson which failed to land as an ethical exhortation might land as metaphysical description instead.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
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Lessons
Personal
- If a piece of advice hasn't stuck for you framed one way — as a moral rule, say — try re-encountering it framed differently, as a description of how things actually work; the same lesson can land the second time through a different door.
Professional
- If a process change didn't stick when you pitched it as 'best practice,' try re-pitching it grounded in the actual mechanics of why the system behaves the way it does — the same instruction often lands differently through a different frame.
Family & Social
- If reminding someone close to you of a boundary as a rule hasn't worked, try explaining the actual reason behind it instead — sometimes a lesson needs a second framing, not more repetition of the first one.
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