Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa
प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च कार्याकार्ये भयाभये ।
बन्धं मोक्षं च या वेत्ति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी ॥३०॥
pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca
kāryākārye bhayābhaye
bandhaṁ mokṣaṁ ca yā vetti
buddhiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī
Word for word (synonyms)
- pravṛttim
- deserving
- ca
- also
- nivṛttim
- not deserving
- kārya
- work
- akārye
- reaction
- bhaya
- fearful
- abhaye
- fearlessness
- bandham
- obligation
- mokṣam ca
- and liberation
- yā
- that which
- vetti
- knows
- buddhiḥ
- understanding
- sā
- that
- pārtha
- O son of Pṛthā
- sāttvikī
- in the mode of goodness
Translation
O son of Pṛthā, that understanding by which one knows what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, what is to be feared and what is not to be feared, what is binding and what is liberating, that understanding is established in the mode of goodness.
Purport
Actions which are performed in terms of the directions of the scriptures are called pravṛtti, or actions that deserve to be performed, and actions which are not so directed are not to be performed. One who does not know the scriptural directions becomes entangled in the actions and reactions of work. Understanding which discriminates by intelligence is situated in the mode of goodness.
What this verse teaches
Intelligence or understanding (buddhi) in three modes
| Goodness | Passion | Ignorance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Understanding | knows what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, what is to be feared and what is not to be feared, what is binding and what is liberating 18.30 | cannot distinguish between the religious way of life and the irreligious, between action that should be done and action that should not be done 18.31 | considers irreligion to be religion and religion to be irreligion 18.32 |
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.