Chapter 14, Verse 23
उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते | गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येवं योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते ||१४-२३||
udāsīnavadāsīno guṇairyo na vicālyate . guṇā vartanta ityevaṃ yo.avatiṣṭhati neṅgate ||14-23||
Meaning
14.23 He who, seated like one unconcerned, is not moved by the alities, and who, knowing that the alities are active, is self-centred and moves not.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna deepens the portrait with the luminous image of udāsīna — one who sits like a detached, unconcerned witness. The transcended soul is not driven this way and that by the guṇas; he is na vicālyate, unshaken by them. Resting in the simple knowledge that 'it is the qualities that are operating,' he remains established in himself and does not waver.
The word udāsīna does not mean cold indifference to life, but the serene neutrality of a witness who knows he is not the actor. Imagine watching a play with full attention yet without being swept into believing oneself one of the characters. So the sage observes the guṇas dance through his own mind and body, fully aware, yet inwardly still. 'The qualities are merely turning in their round' — this quiet recognition is his anchor. Rooted in the changeless Self, he neither resists nor is dragged; he simply abides, unmoved.
💡 Key Takeaway
Stand as the witness who knows 'it is only the qualities at play' — then nothing in the mind's movement can shake you.
Related Verses
सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसम्भवाः | निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् ||१४-५||
sattvaṃ rajastama iti guṇāḥ prakṛtisambhavāḥ . nibadhnanti mahābāho dehe dehinamavyayam ||14-5||
14.5 Purity, passion and inertia these alities, O Arjuna, born of Nature, bind fast in the body, the embodied, the indestructible.
तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम् | सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ ||१४-६||
tatra sattvaṃ nirmalatvātprakāśakamanāmayam . sukhasaṅgena badhnāti jñānasaṅgena cānagha ||14-6||
14.6 Of these, Sattva, which from its stainlessness is luminous and healthy, binds by attachment to happiness and by attachment to knowledge, O sinless one.
रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् | तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम् ||१४-७||
rajo rāgātmakaṃ viddhi tṛṣṇāsaṅgasamudbhavam . tannibadhnāti kaunteya karmasaṅgena dehinam ||14-7||
14.7 Know thou Rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of thirst (for sensual enjoyment) and attachment; it binds fast, O Arjuna, the embodied one by attachment to action.