पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान्गुणान् ।
कारणं गुणसङ्गोऽस्य सदसद्योनिजन्मसु ॥
कारणं गुणसङ्गोऽस्य सदसद्योनिजन्मसु ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
प्रकृतिमें स्थित पुरुष ही प्रकृतिजन्य गुणोंका भोक्ता बनता है और गुणोंका सङ्ग ही उसके ऊँचनीच योनियोंमें जन्म लेनेका कारण बनता है ॥
English
The inner being, situated in nature, experiences the qualities born of nature. Attachment to those qualities causes birth in good and bad wombs.
What this verse means
The inner being, while tied to nature, experiences its changing qualities. Clinging to those qualities is what leads to repeated births in favorable and unfavorable forms.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield, Arjuna is frozen, and Krishna is explaining why suffering repeats. The inner being, caught in nature, tastes its changing qualities; that same attachment becomes the cause of future births in better or worse conditions.
Why this verse still matters
You keep replaying the same argument in your head after the call ends. The event is over, but your attachment to its emotional charge keeps pulling you back.
The takeaway
What traps you is not experience itself, but your attachment to its changing moods and pulls.
Word-by-word translation
पुरुषः (the inner being) / प्रकृतिस्थः (situated in nature) / हि (indeed) / भुङ्क्ते (experiences) / प्रकृतिजान् (born of nature) / गुणान् (qualities) / कारणम् (cause) / गुणसङ्गः (attachment to qualities) / अस्य (of this) / सत्-असत् (good and bad) / योनि-जन्मसु (in womb-births)
This verse is part of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13: Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga — Field and Knower of the Field, which contains 35 verses.
Explore related themes: gunas (47 verses), prakriti (31 verses), kshetrajna (20 verses)