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Chapter 18 · The Perfection of Renunciation · 78 verses

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Nature & guṇasChapter 18 · The Perfection of Renunciation
18.2818.30

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 18.29

Knowledge, action, determination and happiness in the modes

बुद्धेर्भेदं धृतेश्चैव गुणतस्त्रिविधं श‍ृणु ।

प्रोच्यमानमशेषेण पृथक्त्वेन धनञ्जय ॥ २९ ॥

buddher bhedaṁ dhṛteś caiva

guṇatas tri-vidhaṁ śṛṇu

procyamānam aśeṣeṇa

pṛthaktvena dhanañ-jaya

Translation

O winner of wealth, now please listen as I tell you in detail of the different kinds of understanding and determination, according to the three modes of material nature.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Understanding and Determination

  1. 1The Lord asks Arjuna to listen as He explains understanding and determination according to the three modes of material nature.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that the Lord now describes the worker’s intelligence and determination, just as He previously described knowledge, its object, and the knower.
  3. 3Listen carefully to the Lord’s explanation of these different kinds of understanding and determination.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 18, The Perfection of Renunciation: knowledge, action, determination and happiness in the modes.

What it teaches

Theme summary

The modes of nature condition behavior.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: prakṛti, guṇa.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 18.29 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to nature & guṇas?

Practice

Observe which mode shaped your last decision.

4

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 18.19Knowledge, action, determination and happiness in the modesBG 18.20Knowledge, action, determination and happiness in the modesBG 7.14Crossing beyond māyā

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

Ask the study guide

Ask about BG 18.29 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.

Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.