Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 21
पृथक्त्वेन तु यज्ज्ञानं नानाभावान्पृथग्विधान्।वेत्ति सर्वेषु भूतेषु तज्ज्ञानं विद्धि राजसम्।।
pṛthaktvena tu yaj jñānaṁ nānā-bhāvān pṛthag-vidhān
vetti sarveṣu bhūteṣu taj jñānaṁ viddhi rājasam
also searched as "prthaktvena tu yaj jnanam nana-bhavan prthag-vidhan"
Translation
But that knowledge which sees all beings, due to their individual nature, as distinct entities—know that knowledge to be Rajasic.
Vāṇi's rendering
The knowing that sees only separateness — countless beings, each cut off, each different — that knowing is restless.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पृथक्त्वेनpṛthaktvena | by way of separateness; as though things stood apart |
| तुtu | but |
| यत्yat | which (appears as yaj by sandhi before jñānam) |
| ज्ञानंjñānaṁ | knowing, knowledge |
| नाना-भावान्nānā-bhāvān | the many kinds of being, countless separate existences |
| पृथग्-विधान्pṛthag-vidhān | of distinct sorts, each cut to its own pattern |
| वेत्तिvetti | sees, takes to be so |
| सर्वेषुsarveṣu | in all |
| भूतेषुbhūteṣu | in beings, in living things |
| तत्tat | that (appears as taj by sandhi before jñānam) |
| ज्ञानंjñānaṁ | knowing |
| विद्धिviddhi | know it as |
| राजसम्rājasam | restless, driven — belonging to rajas |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 21 mean?
It names a middle grade of knowing. You look at the world and see only separate beings, each with its own nature, none connected to any other. Krishna does not call this a lie — he calls it rājasa, restless. Such seeing can never rest, because it must forever measure one thing against another.
What does prthaktvena tu yaj jnanam nana-bhavan prthag-vidhan teach?
That the mind which insists on separateness has bought itself endless labour. Nānā-bhāvān — the many modes of being — are truly there. The error is in seeing nothing but them. Where the sāttvika knowing rests in the one undivided being, this one runs from difference to difference and never arrives.
Is it wrong to notice that people are different from each other?
No. Difference is visible and Krishna never denies it. The question is whether difference is the last word or the first. When separateness becomes the whole of what you see, comparison follows, and after comparison, restlessness. Notice the difference; do not build your house in it.
How is rajasic knowledge different from sattvic knowledge in the Gita?
Sāttvika knowing sees one imperishable being in every being, unbroken through all the broken forms. Rājasa knowing sees the forms alone. The first can be still. The second must keep moving, keep ranking, keep defending its position — which is why Krishna marks it as restless rather than false.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Count the people in a room and you have already done something to them. This knowing is not false — the differences are real; bodies differ, temperaments differ. But it stops there. It sees the many and never the one, and so it must sort, compare, rank, defend. That is why Krishna calls it restless: separateness is exhausting work. Someone must always be above you or below you. Notice what happens in you when you meet a stranger — the quick tally of like and unlike. That tally is the fatigue you have been calling life.