Bhagavad Gita 14.23 Meaning: Udasinavadasino gunairyo

Bhagavad Gita 14.23

उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते ।गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येव योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते ॥

Udasinavadasino gunairyo na vichalyateGuna vartanta ityeva yovatishthati nengate

udāsīnavadāsīno guṇairyo na vicālyate |guṇā vartanta ityeva yo’vatiṣṭhati neṅgate ||

How to read these English letters (IAST)

Our explanation Krishna goes on. Such a person, he says, sits like one unconcerned (udāsīna), is not shaken by the guṇas, and stays firm and unmoving, knowing that it is only the guṇas that are at work.

हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण आगे कहते हैं कि ऐसा व्यक्ति उदासीन की तरह बैठा रहता है, गुणों से विचलित नहीं होता, और यह जानकर कि केवल गुण ही बरत रहे हैं, स्थिर रहता है और डगमगाता नहीं।

Word by word

Every word, with its dictionary page

Word by word

उदासीनवत् udāsīnavat · like one unconcerned (indeclinable) Dictionary: ud-āsīna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 185, col. 3 “sitting apart, indifferent, free from affection”; 1. vat, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 915, col. 2 “added to words to imply likeness or resemblance, and generally translatable by ‘as,’ ‘like’”
आसीनः āsīnaḥ · seated (present participle (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: āsīna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 159, col. 3 “sitting, seated”
गुणैः guṇaiḥ · by the guṇas (noun (masculine), instrumental plural) Dictionary: guṇa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 357, col. 1 “(in Sāṃkhya phil.) an ingredient or constituent of Prakṛiti, chief quality of all existing beings”
यः yaḥ · who (pronoun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “not, no, nor, neither”
विचाल्यते vicālyate · is shaken (causative passive present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: vi-cal, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 958, col. 3 “to cause to move, loosen, shake”
गुणाः guṇāḥ · the guṇas (noun (masculine), nominative plural) Dictionary: guṇa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 357, col. 1 “(in Sāṃkhya phil.) an ingredient or constituent of Prakṛiti, chief quality of all existing beings”
वर्तन्ते vartante · are at work (present, 3rd person plural) Dictionary: 1. vṛt, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1009, col. 1 “to move or go on, get along, advance, proceed”
इति iti · thus (knowing) (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. iti, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 165, col. 1 “in this manner, thus”
एव eva · only (indeclinable) Dictionary: 1. eva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone, merely”
यः yaḥ · who (pronoun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
अवतिष्ठति avatiṣṭhati · stays firm (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: ava-sthā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 105, col. 3 “to take one's stand, remain standing”
न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “not, no, nor, neither”
इङ्गते iṅgate · moves, wavers (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: iṅg, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 164, col. 1 “to move or agitate”

1 printing differs

Edition differences. Another printing or text reads this place differently.

Word A digital text reads Reads इत्येवं ('thus'); the 1922 edition reads इत्येव ('only thus', with the particle eva), as another digital text does (ity eva). The sense is close: Telang translates 'merely that the qualities exist'.

Bhagavad Gita 14.23: meaning and translation

Text and layers