Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 21

English Translation

With regard to the source of body and organs, Nature is said to be the cause. The soul is the cause so far as enjoyership of happiness and sorrow is concerned.

Detailed Commentary

Explanation: In the third verse of this chapter, the Lord described four aspects concerning the *Kshetra* (the field): what it is, how it is, what modifications it possesses, and from what it originates. Of these, "what it is" was described in the fifth verse, and "what modifications it possesses" in the sixth verse. "How it is" will be described later in the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh verses. Now, describing "from what it originates," the Lord states that modifications (*vikāras*) and *Guṇas* (qualities) arise from *Prakriti*. The modifications were described in the sixth verse as desire, aversion, etc. Here, the idea that *Guṇas* originate from *Prakriti* is newly introduced. From the twelfth to the eighteenth verse, the *Jñeya Tattva* (the knowable reality, i.e., Paramatma) is described, and here, from the nineteenth to the thirty-fourth verse, *Purusha* (the knower of the field, i.e., *Kshetrajña*) is described. The *Jñeya Tattva* and *Purusha* are not separate but are one. *Prakriti* and *Purusha* are said to be beginningless (*anādi*). *Prakriti* is the cause of the universe, whereas *Purusha* is not the cause. The term "*ubhau*" (both) signifies that *Prakriti* and *Purusha* are distinct. *Prakriti* possesses *Guṇas*, while *Purusha* is devoid of *Guṇas*. *Prakriti* undergoes modifications (*vikārī*), *Purusha* does not. The so-called "*jīva's Purusha*" (the individual soul) is beginningless (*anādi*), and this *Prakriti* is also beginningless (*anādi*). *Prakriti* possesses *Guṇas*; *Purusha* is devoid of *Guṇas*. *Prakriti* is the cause of the universe, and *Purusha* does not become the cause. "Modifications (*vikāra*) and *Guṇas*" originate from *Prakriti*. *Purusha* has no modifications or *Guṇas*. In the seventh chapter, the Lord states that the *Guṇas* originate from Him, and here, from *Prakriti*. In *Bhaktiyoga*, the Lord attributed the *Guṇas* to Himself, and in *Jñānayoga*, to *Prakriti*. A seeker becomes free from *Guṇas* only when they do not identify with them and understand them to belong to *Prakriti* alone. Both the effect (*kārya*) and the cause (*kāraṇa*) have *Prakriti* as their origin. *Prakriti* is the cause of the body's actions. Whatever actions arise from the mind (*manas*), intellect (*buddhi*), and ego (*ahaṅkāra*)—*Prakriti* is their cause. *Purusha* is the enjoyer (*bhoktā*) of pleasure and pain. The experience of pleasure and pain occurs only in *Purusha*, not in *Prakriti*. Being happy or unhappy is not the nature of the conscious principle (*chetan*); it assumes this due to its association with the inert (*jaḍa*). Connection: In the previous verse, the Lord stated that *Purusha* is the cause of experiencing pleasure and pain. The Lord answers this question in the following verse.