Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7, Verse 13

Chapter 7 – Jnana Vijnana Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत् ।
मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्यः परमव्ययम् ॥

Transliteration

tribhirguṇamayairbhāvairebhiḥ sarvamidaṃ jagat .
mohitaṃ nābhijānāti māmebhyaḥ paramavyayam ॥

Meaning

Deluded by these three states born of the gunas, this whole world does not recognise Me, who am beyond them and imperishable.

Word meanings

त्रिभिः – by three
गुणमयैः – made of the gunas
भावैः – states
एभिः – by these
सर्वम् – whole
इदम् – this
जगत् – world
मोहितम् – deluded
न – not
अभिजानाति – knows, recognises
माम् – Me
एभ्यः – than these
परम् – beyond
अव्ययम् – imperishable, changeless

Anvaya (word order)

एभिः त्रिभिः गुणमयैः भावैः मोहितम् इदं सर्वं जगत् एभ्यः परम् अव्ययं मां न अभिजानाति ।

Explanation

In the previous verse Krishna said that all states of the three gunas arise from Him, yet He is beyond them. Now He states a sad fact: these very gunas, born of His power, delude the people of the world and draw them away from Him.

Mohitam nabhijanati — deluded, the world does not know Me. The human mind is always under the influence of one guna or another. Sattva binds it to knowledge and happiness — 'I am wise, I am happy'; rajas drives it through desires and actions; tamas sinks it in sloth and ignorance. Entangled in these, a person takes them to be everything and fails to see the source behind them.

Consider an example: a viewer becomes so absorbed in the images moving on a cinema screen that he forgets the screen on which they all appear. The images keep changing — sometimes pleasant, sometimes painful — but the screen stays unchanged. The Lord is that screen, avyaya — never changing — and the states of the gunas are the images.

Shankara says that beings, robbed of discrimination by states such as attraction, aversion and delusion born of the gunas, do not know the Lord, who is their very Self. The verse raises a question: how then can one get out of this delusion? The next verse answers.

Context

In 7.12 Krishna said the three gunas arise from Him while He transcends them. This verse explains that, deluded by these gunas, the world fails to recognise Him. In the next verse (7.14) He gives the way to cross this maya — surrender to Him.

Life lesson

We become so lost in our emotions, desires and habits that we forget the steady truth behind them. Pause a few times a day and notice which guna your mind is under; that very awareness is the beginning of freedom from delusion.

Key terms

Gunamaya bhava: states made of sattva, rajas and tamas
Mohita: deluded
Avyaya: imperishable, never changing
Para: beyond, transcending the gunas