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?
— Arjuna
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Bhagavad Gita · 14.21
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 ॥
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
अर्जुन उवाचArjuna saidकैः लिंगैःby what signsत्रीन्threeगुणान्qualitiesएतान्theseअतीतःgone beyondभवतिbecomesप्रभोO Lordकिम् आचारःwhat is the conductकथम् चand howएतान्theseत्रीन् गुणान्three qualitiesअतिवर्ततेcrosses beyond
Read literallyArjuna said · by what signs · three · qualities · these · gone beyond · becomes · O Lord · what is the conduct · and how · these · three qualities · crosses beyond
Understanding the verse
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Arjuna asks three practical questions: how to recognise the one beyond the gunas, how they live, how they cross.
Arjuna asks how to recognize someone who has gone beyond the three qualities, how that person behaves, and how such freedom is reached.
02
On the battlefield
Context & commentary
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 he can follow.
03
In your life
What it looks like today
When a relative says an elder is above petty quarrels, it is fair to ask what that looks like at a wedding. Arjuna asks the same kind of question here: what are the signs, the conduct and the method?
The takeaway
“It is okay to ask how real freedom looks before you can live it.”
Explore related themes: vairagya(51 verses), gunas(47 verses)
Common questions
What does Bhagavad Gita 14.21 mean?
Arjuna asks how to recognize someone who has gone beyond the three qualities, how that person behaves, and how such freedom is reached.
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 14.21?
Arjuna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga" (The Three Modes of Material Nature).
Which chapter of the Bhagavad Gita contains verse 14.21?
Verse 21 sits in Chapter 14 of the Bhagavad Gita — Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga, "The Three Modes of Material Nature". The chapter has 27 verses in total.
Why does Bhagavad Gita 14.21 matter today?
When a relative says an elder is above petty quarrels, it is fair to ask what that looks like at a wedding. Arjuna asks the same kind of question here: what are the signs, the conduct and the method?
Arjuna asks three practical questions: how to recognise the one beyond the gunas, how they live, how they cross.
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
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 he can follow.
What it looks like today
When a relative says an elder is above petty quarrels, it is fair to ask what that looks like at a wedding. Arjuna asks the same kind of question here: what are the signs, the conduct and the method?
“It is okay to ask how real freedom looks before you can live it.”
Explore related themes: vairagya (51 verses), gunas (47 verses)