अर्जुन उवाचकैर्लिंगैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो ।
किमाचारः कथं चैतांस्त्रीन्गुणानतिवर्तते ॥
किमाचारः कथं चैतांस्त्रीन्गुणानतिवर्तते ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
अर्जुन बोले हे प्रभो इन तीनों गुणोंसे अतीत हुआ मनुष्य किन लक्षणोंसे युक्त होता है उसके आचरण कैसे होते हैं और इन तीनों गुणोंका अतिक्रमण कैसे किया जा सकता है ॥
English
Arjuna said: O Lord, by what signs is a person known who has gone beyond these three qualities? How does such a person behave, and how does one cross beyond the three qualities?
What this verse means
Arjuna asks how to recognize someone who has gone beyond the three qualities, how that person behaves, and how such freedom is reached.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna has just heard that a wise person can rise above the three qualities and escape birth, death, and aging. He now asks Krishna for the practical signs, the conduct, and the method, because he wants a lived answer, not a theory.
Why this verse still matters
You hear a calm person speak after a painful breakup and wonder: what changed in them? This is the question behind the question — how does freedom actually show up in a human life?
The takeaway
It is okay to ask how real freedom looks before you can live it.
Word-by-word translation
अर्जुन उवाच (Arjuna said) / कैः लिंगैः (by what signs) / त्रीन् (three) / गुणान् (qualities) / एतान् (these) / अतीतः (gone beyond) / भवति (becomes) / प्रभो (O Lord) / किम् आचारः (what is the conduct) / कथम् च (and how) / एतान् (these) / त्रीन् गुणान् (three qualities) / अतिवर्तते (crosses beyond)
This verse is part of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14: Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga — The Three Modes of Material Nature, which contains 27 verses.
Explore related themes: vairagya (51 verses), gunas (47 verses)