Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 40
न तदस्ति पृथिव्यां वा दिवि देवेषु वा पुनः।सत्त्वं प्रकृतिजैर्मुक्तं यदेभिः स्यात्त्रिभिर्गुणैः।।
na tad asti pṛthivyāṁ vā divi deveṣu vā punaḥ
sattvaṁ prakṛti-jair muktaṁ yad ebhiḥ syāt tribhir guṇaiḥ
also searched as "na tad asti prithivyam va divi deveshu va punah"
Translation
There is no creature, on earth or among the gods in heaven, that is exempt from these three Gunas born of Prakrti.
Vāṇi's rendering
Nothing on earth, nothing even among the gods of heaven, is free of these three strands spun by nature.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नna | not |
| तत्tad | that (thing, being) |
| अस्तिasti | exists, is there |
| पृथिव्याम्pṛthivyāṁ | on the earth |
| वाvā | or |
| दिविdivi | in heaven |
| देवेषुdeveṣu | among the shining ones, the gods |
| वाvā | or |
| पुनःpunaḥ | again, moreover |
| सत्त्वम्sattvaṁ | a being, an existing creature (here not the guṇa of the same name) |
| प्रकृतिजैःprakṛti-jaiḥ | born of nature — sandhi: prakṛti-jair before muktaṁ |
| मुक्तम्muktaṁ | released, free of |
| यत्yad | which |
| एभिःebhiḥ | by these |
| स्यात्syāt | would be, could be |
| त्रिभिःtribhiḥ | three — sandhi: tribhir before guṇaiḥ |
| गुणैःguṇaiḥ | strands, qualities of nature |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 40 mean?
It means there is no exception. Every being that exists — on earth, in heaven, among the gods — is woven of the three guṇas born of prakṛti. Krishna is not accusing anyone; he is removing an exit. Purity is not a place you reach outside nature, so the real question becomes which strand governs your acting.
na tad asti prithivyam va divi deveshu va punah - what is this verse saying?
That nothing anywhere is free of the three strands. The line reaches deliberately upward — even the devas in heaven are named — so that no imagined higher station can be treated as escape. Wherever there is a being, there is sattva, rajas and tamas working in it. Including the one reading this.
If nobody can escape the three gunas, what is the point of spiritual effort?
Effort was never about leaving nature; it was about which of nature's strands rules. Krishna spends this chapter showing that sattva can lead, rajas can lead, tamas can lead — and that you have a say. You do not step out of the weave. You change which thread runs on top.
Why does Krishna include the gods in this verse?
Because Arjuna, like everyone, keeps hoping there is a rank high enough to be exempt. Heaven is the last such hope. By naming the devas, Krishna shuts it: they too are made of prakṛti, they too are strand-bound. Stop searching upward for exemption and look instead at today's actual choice.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna has just sorted knowledge, action and doer into three strands each — and Arjuna could still hope some corner of existence stands outside the sorting. This verse closes that corner. Not earth, not heaven, not the gods. Everything made of nature is woven of the same three threads. So stop looking for the untainted option. There isn't one; there never was. What remains is not escape but proportion — which strand you feed today, which one you starve. You will not act without sattva, rajas and tamas in the act. You can decide which of them leads.