Intellect and determination also carry guna-quality.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
बुद्धेर्भेदं धृतेश्चैव गुणतस्त्रिविधं शृणु |प्रोच्यमानमशेषेण पृथक्त्वेन धनञ्जय ||१८-२९||
buddherbhedaṃ dhṛteścaiva guṇatastrividhaṃ śṛṇu . procyamānamaśeṣeṇa pṛthaktvena dhanañjaya ||18-29||
Use this verse to start a buddhi-dhriti audit.
Meaning
O Dhananjaya, hear fully and distinctly the threefold division of intellect and firmness according to the gunas.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Krishna now explains three kinds of intellect and determination.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
After knowledge, action, and doer, Krishna moves deeper into the inner engine: buddhi and dhriti. These decide what we understand and what we persist in.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna continues his systematic survey, now turning to buddhi (intellect or understanding) and dhriti (firmness or steadiness of will). Each, he promises, will be set out fully and distinctly according to the three gunas.
This pairing is deliberate and practical. Buddhi is the faculty that discerns what should be done; dhriti is the power that holds steady in doing it. Together they form the inner engine of right living — clear judgment and the resolve to act on it.
By examining how these too are colored by sattva, rajas, and tamas, Krishna gives Arjuna a precise vocabulary for understanding the quality of his own decisions and his own perseverance.
In daily life
Improve your decisions by improving both discernment and firmness.
A person may know the right thing but lack determination, or have determination without clear discernment.
Try this today
Rate one current challenge for clarity and firmness.
I refine both my intellect and determination.Reflect
Is my weakness in discernment or determination?
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Quick check
What does ‘पृथक्त्वेन’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on three gunas, in other chapters
- Verse 2.45Go beyond mastering spiritual teachings to actually living from the awareness those teachings point toward — rest in the Self that is prior to all conditions.
- Verse 3.40Desire takes hold through your senses, mind, and reasoning — guard each level, for once it corrupts your judgment it is hardest to see.
- Verse 5.8Rest in the witnessing Self: let life's activities flow while inwardly knowing 'I am not the doer.'
- Verse 7.2Seek the knowing that is also realised in experience, for that alone leaves nothing essential still to be sought.
Swipe left for 18.30 · Sattvic intellect sees what frees and what binds.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.29
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.29, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.29, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.29 mean?
O Dhananjaya, hear fully and distinctly the threefold division of intellect and firmness according to the gunas. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.29 for daily life?
Improve your decisions by improving both discernment and firmness. A person may know the right thing but lack determination, or have determination without clear discernment.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.29 mean?
बुद्धेः भेदं — the division of intellect; धृतेः च एव — and also of firmness; गुणतः त्रिविधं — threefold according to the gunas; शृणु — hear; प्रोच्यमानम् — being declared.
Where does verse 18.29 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 29 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.30.