Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa
गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान् ।
जन्ममृत्युजरादुःखैर्विमुक्तोऽमृतमश्नुते ॥२०॥
guṇān etān atītya trīn
dehī deha-samudbhavān
janma-mṛtyu-jarā-duḥkhair
vimukto 'mṛtam aśnute
Word for word (synonyms)
- guṇān
- qualities
- etān
- all these
- atītya
- transcending
- trīn
- three
- dehī
- body
- deha
- body
- samudbhavān
- produced of
- janma
- birth
- mṛtyu
- death
- jarā
- old age
- duḥkhaiḥ
- distresses
- vimuktaḥ
- being freed from
- amṛtam
- nectar
- aśnute
- enjoys
Translation
When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes, he can become free from birth, death, old age and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life.
Purport
How one can stay in the transcendental position, even in this body, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is explained in this verse. The Sanskrit word dehī means embodied. Although one is within this material body, by his advancement in spiritual knowledge he can be free from the influence of the modes of nature. He can enjoy the happiness of spiritual life even in this body because, after leaving this body, he is certainly going to the spiritual sky. But even in this body he can enjoy spiritual happiness. In other words, devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the sign of liberation from this material entanglement, and this will be explained in the Eighteenth Chapter. When one is freed from the influence of the modes of material nature, he enters into devotional service.
What this verse teaches
Result of transcending the modes
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.