Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 28
तत्त्ववित्तु महाबाहो गुणकर्मविभागयोः।
गुणा गुणेषु वर्तन्त इति मत्वा न सज्जते।।
गुणा गुणेषु वर्तन्त इति मत्वा न सज्जते।।
tattva-vit tu mahā-bāho guṇa-karma-vibhāgayoḥ
guṇā guṇeṣu vartanta iti matvā na sajjate
also searched as "tattvavit tu mahabaho gunakarmavibhagayoh"
Translation
But he who knows the truth about the division of the Gunas and works, O mighty-armed one, through his knowledge that the Gunas 'operate on their own products,' is not attached.
Vāṇi's rendering
But the knower sees forces moving among forces — the senses among their objects — and does not cling.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तत्त्ववित्tattva-vit | one who knows how things actually are |
| तुtu | but — in contrast to the deluded one of the previous verse |
| महाबाहोmahā-bāho | O mighty-armed one (Arjuna) |
| गुणकर्मविभागयोःguṇa-karma-vibhāgayoḥ | of the divisions of the forces and of actions — how each force and each act belongs to its own class |
| गुणाःguṇā | the forces of nature (here, the senses and their powers); final visarga dropped before the following voiced sound |
| गुणेषुguṇeṣu | among the forces (here, the objects the senses meet) |
| वर्तन्तेvartanta | move, turn, carry on; final vowel shortened before iti |
| इतिiti | thus, in this way |
| मत्वाmatvā | having understood |
| नna | not |
| सज्जतेsajjate | sticks, clings, gets caught |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 28 mean?
It means the knower sees the whole machinery of action as nature meeting nature — senses moving among their objects, forces among forces. Nothing is denied and nothing stops. What stops is the clinging, because the one who claimed to be doing it is seen through. Understanding, not withdrawal, is what frees the hand.
What does tattvavit tu mahabaho gunakarmavibhagayoh teach?
That Krishna addresses Arjuna as mighty-armed precisely while dissolving his sense of authorship. Strength is not the problem. The problem is the belief that the arm is the archer. Know the divisions of guṇa and karma — which force does what, and to whom it belongs — and the grip loosens on its own.
If the senses act on their own, why should I take responsibility for anything?
Because seeing forces move is not the same as excusing yourself. This verse comes to one already acting, already doing the work Krishna assigned. It removes the clinging, not the duty. The confusion Krishna warns of in the next verse is exactly this — using insight as a reason to sit down.
How is this different from simply suppressing desire?
Suppression fights the senses; here nothing is fought. You are not told to starve the tongue, only to notice that hunger meeting food never needed an owner. Suppression keeps the doer intact and strains against him. This verse quietly relieves him of his post, and the strain has nowhere left to live.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Mighty-armed — Krishna names Arjuna's strength in the same breath that he takes the doership away. Watch what happens when you eat: hunger meets food, tongue meets taste. Forces meeting forces. The eye never decides to see; light arrives and seeing occurs. Nothing in that exchange required an owner. The one who sees this still eats, still works, still fights — but the clinging falls away, because no one is standing in the middle claiming the transaction. Arjuna's grief was the grief of a man who thought he was the transaction. Watch your next irritation arrive, and see whose it is.