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Bhagavad Gita / Chapter 13 / Verse 21
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Bhagavad Gita 13.21

Sanskrit
Hindi
Sanskrit

कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिरुच्यते | पुरुषः सुखदुःखानां भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते

Transliteration

kāryakāraṇakartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtirucyate . puruṣaḥ sukhaduḥkhānāṃ bhoktṛtve heturucyate

English

With regard to the source of body and organs, Nature is said to be the cause. The soul is the cause so far as enjoyership of happiness and sorrow is concerned.

हिन्दी

कार्य और कारण के उत्पन्न करने में हेतु प्रकृति कही जाती है और पुरुष सुख-दु:ख के भोक्तृत्व में हेतु कहा जाता है।।

Explanation — English

Pleasure and pain are the fruits of virtuous and vicious actions. The force of desire acts on the mind and the mind impels the senses to act to get the objects of desire. Good and evil actions proceed from Nature and lead to happiness or misery. Evil actions produce misery and sorrow. Virtuous actions cause happiness and joy. The soul is the enjoyer. The wife works and prepares nice? palatable dishes the huand silently enjoys the fruits of her labour. He sits ietly and eats them to his hearts content. Even so Nature works and the soul experiences the fruits of Her labour? viz.? pleasure and pain.When harmony predominates? virtuous actions are performed. When there is a preponderance of Rajas? both virtuous and vicious actions are performed. When Tamas predominates? sinful? unlawful and unrighteous actions are done.In the place of Kaarana (कारण) which means cause? some read Karana (करण) which means instrument such as the five organs of knowledge? five organs of action? mind? intellect and egoism (thirteen principles located in the body).Karya The effect? viz.? the physical body. The five elements which form the body and the five senses? and which form the senseobjects which are born of Nature come under the term effect. All alities? such as pleasure and pain and delusion which are born of Nature? come under the term instruments because these alities reside in the instruments? the senses.In the production of the body? the senses and their sensations Nature is said to be the cause. Thus Nature is the cause of Samsara.Sugarcane is the cause. Sugarcane juice? sugar and sugarcandy are the effects or modifications of sugarcane. Milk is the cause. Curd? butter and ghee (meleted butter) are the modifications of milk. Whatever is a modification of something is its effect? and that from which the modifications come is their cause. Nature is the source or cause of all modifications. She generates everything. The ten organs? mind and the five objects of the senses are the sixteen modifications or effects.Mahat (intellect) is born of Mulaprakriti. From Mahat Ahamkara (egoism) is born. Mahat is the effect of Mulaprakriti and the cause of Ahamkara. Therefore Mahat is called PrakritiVikriti. Mahat? Ahamkara and the five Tanmatras (rootelements of matter) are the seven PrakritiVikriti. Each of these is a modification of its predecessor and is in turn the cause of its successor. The five rootelements generate the five gross elements. They are the subtle elements. These seven are both Nature and modification (Prakriti and Vikriti)? cause and effect? and are included under the term cause.The functions of the body? senses? lifeforce? mind and intellect are superimposed on the pure Self. So the ignorant man says I am black I am fat I am hungry I am angry I am deaf I am blind I am the son of so and so? I know? I am the doer? I am the enjoyer? etc.The intellect is very subtle. It is in close contact with the most subtle Self. The Consciousness of the Self is reflected in the intellect (Chidabhasa) and so the intellect which has the semblance of,the Consciousness feels I am pure consciousness or Chaitanya. I experience pleasure and pain. The attributes of the pure Self are superimposed on the intellect. There is mutual superimposition between the intellect and the Self? Nature and Spirit. This is the cause of Samsara.Purusha? Jiva? Kshetrajna and Bhokta are all synonymous terms. Purusha here referred to is not the Supreme Self. He is the conditioned soul? the soul subject to transmigration who experiences pleasure and pain. The Self or the Absolute is ever free from Samsara and is unchanging.Prakriti and Purusha are the cause of Samsara. Nature generates the body? lifeforce? mind? intellect and the senses. The soul experiences pleasure and pain. Samsara is the experience of pleasure and pain. The soul is the Samsarin. He is the experiencer of pleasure and pain. (Cf.XV.9)

Explanation — हिन्दी

कार्य और कारण के कर्तृत्व में हेतु प्रकृति है यहाँ प्रयुक्त कार्य शब्द से ये तेरह तत्त्व सूचित किये गये हैं पंचमहाभूत? पंच ज्ञानेन्द्रियाँ? मन? बुद्धि और अहंकार। समष्टि पंचतत्त्वों के जो शब्द स्पर्शादि पंच गुण हैं? वे ही व्यष्टि में पंच ज्ञानेन्द्रियों के रूप में स्थित हैं। इसका विवेचन हम पूर्व में भी कर चुके हैं।पाँचो इन्द्रियाँ भिन्नभिन्न विषय ग्रहण करती हैं? जिनका एकत्रीकरण करना मन का कार्य है। तत्पश्चात् अपनी प्रतिक्रिया व्यक्त करने के लिए एक ऐसे तत्त्व की आवश्यकता होती है? जो ग्रहण किये गये विषय के स्वरूप को समझकर अपनी प्रतिक्रिया को निश्चित करे। और वह तत्त्व है बुद्धि। अब? इन सब क्रियाओं विषय ग्रहण? उनके एकत्रीकरण और निर्णय में एक अहंभाव सतत बना रहता है? जैसे मैं देखता हूँ? मैं निर्णय लेता हूँ इत्यादि। यह अहंभाव ही अहंकार कहलाता है? जो आत्मा के इन इन्द्रियादि उपाधियों के साथ तादात्म्य के कारण उत्पन्न होता है। ये तेरह तत्त्व यहाँ कार्य शब्द से सूचित किये गये हैं।यह सम्पूर्ण कार्य जगत् व्यक्त है? और इनका अव्यक्त रूप ही कारण कहलाता है। ये कार्य और कारण प्रकृति ही हैं।पुरुष सुखदुख का भोक्ता है जो चेतन तत्त्व इस कार्यकारण रूप प्रकृति को प्रकाशित करता है? वह आत्मा या पुरुष है।यहाँ आत्मा को पुरुष के रूप में सुखदुख का भोक्ता कहा गया है? वह उसका औपाधिक रूप है? वास्तविक नहीं। सुख और दुख हमारे मन की प्रतिक्रियायें हैं। अनुकूल परस्थितियों में इष्ट की प्राप्ति होने पर सुख और अनिष्ट की प्राप्ति से दुख होता है। प्रत्येक अनुभव उसके अन्तिम विश्लेषण में सुख या दुख के रूप में ही निश्चित किया जाता है। चैतन्य ही इन सब अनुभवों को प्रकाशित करता है? जिसके बिना अनुभवधारा रूप यह जीवन ही सम्भव नहीं हो सकता है। इसलिए? यहाँ कहा गया है कि पुरुष सुखदुख के भोग का हेतु है। क्षेत्र की उपाधि में क्षेत्रज्ञ के रूप में कार्य कर रहा आत्मा ही संसार का भोक्ता बनता है। जो व्यक्ति सूर्य की प्रखर धूप में खड़ा रहेगा उसे सूर्य का ताप सहन करना होगा? यदि वह व्यक्ति सघन छाया में चला जाता है? तो उसे शीतलता का आनन्दानुभव होगा।इस श्लोक में पुरुष को सुखदुखरूप संसार का भोक्ता कहा गया है। इस संसार का कारण क्या है उत्तर में भगवाने कहते हैं

Sanskrit
English
कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे
in the production of the effect
and
the cause
हेतुः
the cause
प्रकृतिः
Prakriti
उच्यते
is said (to be)
पुरुषः
Purusha
सुखदुःखानाम्
of pleasure and pain
भोक्तृत्वे
in the experience
हेतुः
the cause
उच्यते
is said (to be).
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13.1Swami Gambhirananda has not translated this sloka. Many editions of the Bhagavadgita do not contain this sloka, including the commentary by Sankaracharya. If this sloka is included, the total number of slokas in the Bhagavadgita is 701.13.2The Blessed Lord said O son of Kunti, this body is referred to as the 'field'. Those who are versed in this call him who is conscious of it as the 'knower of the field'.13.3And, O scion of the Bharata dynasty, under-stand Me to be the 'Knower of the field' in all the fields. In My opinion, that is Knowledge which is the knowlege of th field and the knower of the field.13.4Hear from Me in brief about (all) that as to what that field is and how it is; what its changes are, and from what cause arises what effect; and who He is, and what His powers are.13.5It has been sung of in various ways by the Rsis, separately by the different kinds [The different branches of Vedic texts.] of Vedic texts, and also by the rational and convicing sentences themselves which are indicatvie of and lead of Brahman.13.6The great elements, egoism, intellect and the Unmanifest itself; the ten organs and the one, and the five objects of the senses;13.7Desire, repulsion, happiness, sorrow, the aggregate (of body and organs), sentience, fortitude- this field, together with its modifications, has been spoken of briefly.13.8Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, for-bearance, sincerity, service of the teacher, cleanliness, steadiness, control of body and organs;13.9Non-attachment with regard to objects of the senses, and also absence of egotism; seeing the evil in birth, death, old age, diseases and miseries;13.10Non-attachment and absence of fondness with regard to sons, wives, homes, etc., and constant eanimity of the mind with regard to the attainment of the desirable and the undesirable;