Chapter 13Verse 19 of 34

Bhagavad Gita 13.19

प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि। विकारांश्च गुणांश्चैव विद्धि प्रकृतिसम्भवान्॥

prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva viddhy anādī ubhāv api vikārāṁś ca guṇāṁś caiva viddhi prakṛti-sambhavān

Translation

Know prakriti and purusha to be both without beginning. Know also the modifications and the qualities to be born of prakriti.

New vocabulary, same distinction. Prakriti, the field-source. Purusha, the knower-source. Both without beginning. Neither created, neither prior. The pair sits at the bottom of everything. Then a clarification: vikaras (modifications) and gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas) belong to prakriti. They are her productions, her output. The knower does not own them. This is the key move that the next several verses will leverage. Almost every confusion about agency rides on attributing the qualities to the wrong source. When you find yourself frustrated by a sticky mood, ask which of the two it belongs to. Prakriti-sambhava, prakriti-born. Belongs to the field. Watching it does not.

Reflection

When a sticky mood arrives, ask which source it actually belongs to.

Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Thirteen

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