Chapter 18, Verse 40
न तदस्ति पृथिव्यां वा दिवि देवेषु वा पुनः | सत्त्वं प्रकृतिजैर्मुक्तं यदेभिः स्यात्त्रिभिर्गुणैः ||१८-४०||
na tadasti pṛthivyāṃ vā divi deveṣu vā punaḥ . sattvaṃ prakṛtijairmuktaṃ yadebhiḥ syāttribhirguṇaiḥ ||18-40||
Meaning
18.40 There is no being on earth or again in heaven among the gods, that is liberated from the three alities born of Nature.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna closes his great analysis of the gunas with a sweeping declaration: nowhere — not on earth, not even among the gods in heaven — exists any being free from the three qualities born of prakriti. The gunas pervade all manifest existence without exception.
This is at once humbling and clarifying. No creature, however exalted, escapes the play of sattva, rajas, and tamas; they are the very fabric of nature. The point is not despair but realism. Since we cannot step outside the gunas by wishing, the path is to understand them, cultivate sattva, and ultimately, as Krishna will teach, transcend all three by taking refuge in the divine beyond nature itself.
💡 Key Takeaway
No being anywhere escapes the three qualities of nature, so wisdom lies in understanding and rising above them.
Related Verses
निश्चयं शृणु मे तत्र त्यागे भरतसत्तम | त्यागो हि पुरुषव्याघ्र त्रिविधः सम्प्रकीर्तितः ||१८-४||
niścayaṃ śṛṇu me tatra tyāge bharatasattama . tyāgo hi puruṣavyāghra trividhaḥ samprakīrtitaḥ ||18-4||
18.4 Hear from Me the conclusion or the final truth about this abandonment, O best of the Bharatas; abandonment, verily, O best of men, has been declared to be of three kinds.
पञ्चैतानि महाबाहो कारणानि निबोध मे | साङ्ख्ये कृतान्ते प्रोक्तानि सिद्धये सर्वकर्मणाम् ||१८-१३||
pañcaitāni mahābāho kāraṇāni nibodha me . sāṅkhye kṛtānte proktāni siddhaye sarvakarmaṇām ||18-13||
18.13 Learn from Me, O mighty-armed Arjuna, these five causes as declared in the Sankhya system for the accomplishment of all actions.
अधिष्ठानं तथा कर्ता करणं च पृथग्विधम् | विविधाश्च पृथक्चेष्टा दैवं चैवात्र पञ्चमम् ||१८-१४||
adhiṣṭhānaṃ tathā kartā karaṇaṃ ca pṛthagvidham . vividhāśca pṛthakceṣṭā daivaṃ caivātra pañcamam ||18-14||
18.14 The seat (body), the doer, the various senses, the different functions of various sorts, and the presiding deity, also, the fifth.