संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.

Cluster 0505 — BG-14.19 — *nānyam guṇebhyaḥ kartāram yadā draṣṭānupaśyati — guṇebhyaś ca param vetti mad-bhāvam so'dhigacchati*

BG-14.19

Sanskrit

नान्यं गुणेभ्यः कर्तारं यदा द्रष्टाऽनुपश्यति । गुणेभ्यश्च परं वेत्ति मद्भावं सोऽधिगच्छति ॥१९॥

Translation

WHEN (yadā) the SEER (draṣṭā) FULLY-SEES (anupaśyati) NO KARTĀ (na anyam kartāram) OTHER-THAN the GUṆAS (guṇebhyaḥ) — AND KNOWS (vetti) the BEYOND-the-GUṆAS (guṇebhyaḥ ca param) — HE (saḥ) ATTAINS (adhigacchati) MY-BHĀVA (mad-bhāvam).

Function

BG-14.19 IS THE GUṆĀTĪTA-OPENING JÑĀNA-VERSE of adhyāya-14. The verse's pedagogical-architecture names the precise dual-condition:

  • DRAṢṬĀ-ANUPAŚYATI condition — the SEER FULLY-SEES that the GUṆAS-themselves are the ONLY-KARTĀ (non-doership-realization).
  • PARAṀ-VETTI condition — the same SEER KNOWS the trans-guṇa PARA (transcendence-realization).
  • MAD-BHĀVĀDHIGAMA yield — fulfillment of both conditions yields the ATTAINMENT-OF-LORD-S-OWN-BHĀVA (sādharmya with the Lord).

The verse opens the GUṆĀTĪTA-DOCTRINE block (BG-14.19-27) by precisely-pivoting from BG-14.18's directional-trajectory WITHIN the guṇa-domain to the GATEWAY-OUT of the guṇa-domain. The dual-condition (non-doership + transcendence) yields the soteriological-fulfillment named MAD-BHĀVA.

Jñāneśvar's 21-ovi Treatment

Jñāneśvar's treatment (14.279-14.299) renders the verse with elaborate Marathi pedagogical-architecture in six blocks (5+4+4+3+3+2):

(i) 14.279-14.283 — Opening-Frame: THREE-SĀMARTHYAS-AS-GUṆAS-THROUGH-DEHA-VYĀJA (5 ovis)

  • 14.279parī hē vāhaṇī aso — māgīla gōṭhī (LET THIS FLOW BE SET ASIDE — the PREVIOUS MATTER) — discourse-pivot from BG-14.18.
  • 14.280sāmarthyēm tinhī sahajēm — hōtī dēhavyājēm — guṇachi hē (the THREE-SĀMARTHYAS arise NATURALLY THROUGH DEHA-VYĀJA — as the GUṆAS-THEMSELVES) — foundational non-doership.
  • 14.281-14.282 — Fourfold EMBODIMENT-similes: INDHANA-AGNI (fire-as-fuel) + TARU-BHŪMI-RASA (tree-as-earth-sap) + DAHIṀ-DŪDHA (curds-from-milk) + GOḌĪ-ŪṀSA (sweetness-as-sugarcane).
  • 14.283svāntaḥkaraṇa dēhachi hōtī triguṇa — mhaṇauni bandhāsi kāraṇa (the SVĀNTAḤKARAṆA itself BECOMES the TRIGUṆA-DEHA — therefore CAUSE OF BANDHA).

(ii) 14.284-14.287 — GUṆĀTĪTATĀ Paradox (4 ovis)

  • 14.284chōja hēm dhanurdharā — ēvaḍhā hā gumphirā — mōkṣāchā samsārā uṇā nōhē (WONDER O DHANURDHARA — this GREAT ENTANGLEMENT — yet MOKṢA-not-inferior-to-SAṀSĀRA) — paradox-opening.
  • 14.285triguṇa āpulālēni dharmēm — dēhīmchē māghuta sāumēm — cāḷitāmhī na khōmē — guṇātītatā (TRIGUṆAS CHURNING the DEHA by own DHARMAS — yet GUṆĀTĪTATĀ DOES NOT DETERIORATE) — CĀḶITĀṀHĪ-NA-KHŌMĒ.
  • 14.286aisī mukti asē sahaja — jñānāmbuja dvirēphu (MUKTI is NATURAL — O JÑĀNA-LOTUS-BEE) — Arjuna-praise.
  • 14.287guṇīm guṇājōgēm caitanya nōhē māgēm (CAITANYA DOES NOT RETURN to guṇa-yoking) — NIVRTTI-permanence.

(iii) 14.288-14.291 — Fourfold Realization-Similes (4 ovis)

  • 14.288 — DREAM-AT-WAKING (svapna kām jaisēm cēilēnī).
  • 14.289 — WATER-REFLECTION-FROM-SHORE (āpaṇa jaḷīm bimbalōm — tīrōnī nyāhaḷī — caḷaṇa hōtām kallōḷīm anēkadhā).
  • 14.290 — ACTOR-NAṬA-NOT-DECEIVED (naṭalēni lāghavēm — naṭu jaisā na jhakavē).
  • 14.291 — RTU-TRAYA-ĀKĀŚA (the SKY-HOLDS-THREE-SEASONS-without-being-touched).

(iv) 14.292-14.294 — SĀKṢĪ-MĪ-AKARTĀ Direct-Declaration Block (3 ovis)

  • 14.292guṇīm guṇāparautēm — jēm āpaṇapēm asē āyitēm — tiyē aham baisē ahamtē mūḷakēciyē (WITHIN-GUṆAS-YET-BEYOND-them — the SELF stands READY — AHAṀ sits on ROOT-AHAṀTĀ).
  • 14.293mhaṇē sākṣī mī akartā — hē guṇachi kriyājātām niyōjita (I AM SĀKṢĪ-AKARTĀ — these GUṆAS are the APPOINTED-DOERS of the kriyā-jātā) — iconic direct-declaration.
  • 14.294sattva-raja-tamāmcā — bhēdīm pasaru karmācā — hōta asē tō guṇāmcā — vikāru hā (the SATTVA-RAJA-TAMAS BHĒDA + KARMA-spread is the GUṆA-VIKĀRA).

(v) 14.295-14.297 — HETU-BHŪTA Simile Block (3 ovis)

  • 14.295yayāmājīm mī aisā — vanīm kām vasantu jaisā — vanalakṣmī vilāsā hētu-bhūta (I AM LIKE SPRING IN FOREST — INDICATING-CAUSE of forest-beauty-display).
  • 14.296 — SAVITĀ-FOUR-COSMIC-EFFECTS (stars-fade + sūrya-kāntā-ignite + lotus-blooms + darkness-flees).
  • 14.297yē kōṇācīm kājēm kahīm — savitiyā jaisī nāhīm — taisā akartā mī dēhīm — sattārūpa (NONE OF THESE WORKS ARE EVER THE SUN-S OWN — SO I AM AKARTĀ-IN-DEHA — SATTĀ-RŪPA) — iconic direct-declaration.

(vi) 14.298-14.299 — Closing-Doctrine (2 ovis)

  • 14.298mī dāūni guṇa dēkhē — guṇatā hē miyām pōkhē — yayāchēni niḥśēkhēm — urē tēm mī (I-by-SHOWING let GUṆAS be SEEN — by ME the GUṆATĀ is NOURISHED — when this is ALL-CONSUMED — what REMAINS is ME) — iconic URĒ-TĒṂ-MĪ residual-realization.
  • 14.299aisēni vivēkēm jayā — udō hōya dhanañjayā — yē guṇātītatva tayā — arthapanthēm (BY THIS VIVĒKA O DHANAÑJAYA — the DAWN ARISES — GUṆĀTĪTATVA comes BY THE ARTHA-PANTHA PATH-OF-MEANING) — cluster-closing declaration.

The cluster delivers BG-14.19's GUṆĀTĪTA-opening with three iconic Marathi pedagogical-elevations: (a) the FOURFOLD-EMBODIMENT-CASCADE (fire-fuel + tree-earth + curd-milk + sweetness-cane) figuring guṇa-deha-embodiment; (b) the FOURFOLD-REALIZATION-CASCADE (dream-waking + water-reflection + actor-naṭa + rtu-traya-ākāśa) figuring untouched-witness; (c) the iconic URĒ-TĒṂ-MĪ residual-realization closing — the precise non-dual claim that the GUṆĀTĪTA self is the IRREDUCIBLE-RESIDUE remaining when the guṇa-totality is NIḤŚĒKHĒṂ-CONSUMED without-remainder, the precise Marathi rendering of MAD-BHĀVĀDHIGAMA.