Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 29
बुद्धेर्भेदं धृतेश्चैव गुणतस्त्रिविधं श्रृणु।प्रोच्यमानमशेषेण पृथक्त्वेन धनञ्जय।।
buddher bhedaṁ dhṛteś caiva guṇatas tri-vidhaṁ śṛṇu
procyamānam aśeṣeṇa pṛthaktvena dhanañjaya
also searched as "buddher bhedam dhritesh chaiva gunatas trividham shrinu"
Translation
Hear now, O Arjuna, the threefold division of Buddhi (reason) and Dhrti (fortitude) according to the Gunas, to be fully and severally set forth.
Vāṇi's rendering
Understanding, too, is of three kinds — and so is resolve. Hear each laid out fully, one by one.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बुद्धेःbuddheḥ | of understanding, of the judging faculty (sandhi: buddher before bhedam) |
| भेदम्bhedam | the division, the distinction |
| धृतेःdhṛteḥ | of resolve, of the steady grip that holds on (sandhi: dhṛteś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| एवeva | likewise, indeed |
| गुणतःguṇataḥ | according to the guṇas, by the strands of nature (sandhi: guṇatas before tri-) |
| त्रिविधम्tri-vidham | of three kinds, threefold |
| श्रृणुśṛṇu | hear, listen |
| प्रोच्यमानम्procyamānam | being declared, as it is now being set out |
| अशेषेणaśeṣeṇa | fully, leaving nothing out |
| पृथक्त्वेनpṛthaktvena | separately, one by one |
| धनञ्जयdhanañjaya | O winner of wealth — Arjuna |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 29 mean?
It announces a further sorting. Having divided action and the actor by the guṇas, Krishna turns to buddhi — the power that decides — and dhṛti, the power that holds a decision. Both come in three grades. He promises to set them out completely and separately, so Arjuna can hear where his own judgment stands.
What does buddher bhedam dhritesh chaiva gunatas trividham shrinu teach?
That your judging and your holding-on are not neutral. They arrive coloured — clear, restless, or clouded — by the nature you were formed in. Krishna asks only for hearing, not effort. Recognition comes first; correction follows. You cannot steady a resolve you have never once looked at squarely.
Why does Krishna call Arjuna Dhananjaya here?
Dhanañjaya means winner of wealth. Arjuna has won kingdoms and heavenly weapons, yet he stands on the field unable to decide. The name is gentle pressure: all that gaining did not settle the question inside you. What is being offered now is a wealth of a different order — clear understanding, firmly held.
How is buddhi different from dhriti in this verse?
Buddhi sees and decides — it tells you what should be done and what should not. Dhṛti holds the decision when feeling argues against it. One is the eye, the other the hand. Many people see clearly and cannot hold; many hold fiercely to what they never examined. Krishna will describe both, in three grades each.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna is still counting. Food, sacrifice, austerity, action, the actor — and now the instrument itself: the faculty that judges, and the grip that holds. Even your discernment has a texture. This is uncomfortable, because we like to think our reasoning stands outside our nature, a clean tool surveying a messy world. It does not. The mind that weighs the choice was shaped before the choice arrived. So Krishna does not say think harder. He says hear it laid out, one by one, so you can recognize which understanding is speaking when it speaks. You cannot correct a lens you believe is clear.