No embodied being is beyond the gunas by default.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
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||
Use this verse as a daily guna check-in reminder.
Meaning
There is no being on earth or among the gods in heaven that is free from these three gunas born of prakriti.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
All embodied beings are influenced by sattva, rajas, and tamas.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna concludes this guna analysis by saying that the three gunas pervade all embodied existence. The practical lesson is humility: everyone must observe, refine, and eventually transcend these forces.
Read the traditional 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.
In daily life
Track your gunas with humility, not judgment.
A person can stop shaming themselves and instead identify whether clarity, restlessness, or dullness is active.
Try this today
Do one three-guna check-in: sattva, rajas, or tamas.
I observe the gunas with humility and move toward freedom.Reflect
Which guna is most active in me right now?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘प्रकृतिजैः’ 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 9.7Creation moves in vast cycles of dissolution and renewal — what looks like an ending is a return to source, never true loss.
- Verse 14.3Every living being is born from the meeting of conscious spirit and material nature — neither is the whole story alone.
- Verse 15.7Your true self is an eternal spark of the Divine, only temporarily caught in the play of mind and senses.
Swipe left for 18.41 · Your truest work flows from your own innate nature, not from imitating someone else's role.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.40
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.40, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.40, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.40 mean?
There is no being on earth or among the gods in heaven that is free from these three gunas born of prakriti. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.40 for daily life?
Track your gunas with humility, not judgment. A person can stop shaming themselves and instead identify whether clarity, restlessness, or dullness is active.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.40 mean?
न तत् अस्ति — there is no such thing; पृथिव्यां वा — on earth; दिवि देवेषु वा पुनः — or again among the gods in heaven; सत्त्वं — being / existence; प्रकृतिजैः — born of nature (prakriti).
Where does verse 18.40 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 40 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.41.