Bg. 13.21 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतु: प्रकृतिरुच्यते । पुरुष: सुखदु:खानां भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते ॥ २१ ॥

Verse text

kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtir ucyate puruṣaḥ sukha-duḥkhānāṁ bhoktṛtve hetur ucyate

Synonyms

kārya — of effect ; kāraṇa — and cause ; kartṛtve — in the matter of creation ; hetuḥ — the instrument ; prakṛtiḥ — material nature ; ucyate — is said to be ; puruṣaḥ — the living entity ; sukha — of happiness ; duḥkhānām — and distress ; bhoktṛtve — in enjoyment ; hetuḥ — the instrument ; ucyate — is said to be.

Translation

Nature is said to be the cause of all material causes and effects, whereas the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

21. Prakṛti is said to be the cause of the connection, because of supplying the body, senses and sense devatās. The jīva is said to be the cause of the connection, being the enjoyer of happiness and distress.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

21. Prakṛti is said to be the cause, instrumental in producing the body and senses. The jīva is said to be the cause, being the enjoyer of happiness and distress.

Purport

The different manifestations of body and senses among the living entities are due to material nature. There are 8,400,000 different species of life, and these varieties are creations of the material nature. They arise from the different sensual pleasures of the living entity, who thus desires to live in this body or that. When he is put into different bodies, he enjoys different kinds of happiness and distress. His material happiness and distress are due to his body, and not to himself as he is. In his original state there is no doubt of enjoyment; therefore that is his real state. Because of the desire to lord it over material nature, he is in the material world. In the spiritual world there is no such thing. The spiritual world is pure, but in the material world everyone is struggling hard to acquire different kinds of pleasures for the body. It might be more clear to state that this body is the effect of the senses. The senses are instruments for gratifying desire. Now, the sum total – body and instrument senses – is offered by material nature, and as will be clear in the next verse, the living entity is blessed or damned with circumstances according to his past desire and activity. According to one’s desires and activities, material nature places one in various residential quarters. The being himself is the cause of his attaining such residential quarters and his attendant enjoyment or suffering. Once placed in some particular kind of body, he comes under the control of nature because the body, being matter, acts according to the laws of nature. At that time, the living entity has no power to change that law. Suppose an entity is put into the body of a dog. As soon as he is put into the body of a dog, he must act like a dog. He cannot act otherwise. And if the living entity is put into the body of a hog, then he is forced to eat stool and act like a hog. Similarly, if the living entity is put into the body of a demigod, he must act according to his body. This is the law of nature. But in all circumstances, the Supersoul is with the individual soul. That is explained in the Vedas ( Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.1) as follows: dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyaḥ. The Supreme Lord is so kind upon the living entity that He always accompanies the individual soul and in all circumstances is present as the Supersoul, or Paramātmā.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In this verse the Lord shows the jīva’s connection with prakṛti. Prakṛti is the cause of the jīva’s unfortunate condition by offering the body (kārya), the senses which produce happiness and distress (kāraṇa) and the presiding deities of the senses (kartṛ). Prakṛti, by association with the jīva, transforms into the form of body, senses and sense devatās, and, by its function of ignorance, it becomes the bestower of the jīva’s misidentification. The jīva (puruṣa), having the position as the enjoyer of the happiness and distress produced by prakṛti, is also the cause of the connection. The meaning is this. Even though the body, the senses, the sense devatās and the jīva’s capacity for enjoyment (bhoktṛtva) are all qualities of prakṛti, because of the predominance of unconsciousness in the body, senses and sense devatās, and the predominance of consciousness in experiencing happiness and distress (bhoktṛ), the two get separately designated as causes according to predominance. According to this reasoning, it is said that prakṛti is the cause, by producing the body, sense and sense devatās, and jīva is the cause by his capacity to experience happiness and distress.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

This verse speaks of their differing functions. Kārya means body. Since the senses are necessary in order to achieve action and knowledge, they are called kāraṇa. Prakṛti is a cause, in that it transforms itself (kartṛtve) into the forms of the senses and body. In the next verse the Lord will say that the jīva is situated in prakṛti (puruṣaḥ prakṛti stho hi). Jīva exploits that prakṛti which appear conscious by its association with the jīva. Thus that prakṛti, ruled by jīva, is the creator of bodies and senses by transforming itself according to the jīva’s karmas. The jīva is the cause in the sense of being the enjoyer of happiness and distress which are offered by prakṛti. He is the agent in enjoying them. The functions of the jīva are to preside over prakṛti and experience happiness and distress. Since prakṛti is the agent in regards to production of the body and senses, but is itself exploited by the jīva, the jīva is the main cause or doer. The author of Vedānta says kartā śāstrārthavattvāt:: the soul is the agent, not prakṛti, since that is the meaning of the scriptures. (Vedānta Sūtra 2.3.31) It will also be stated later that the Lord as the doer must be accepted in all cases, as was stated earlier (the Lord is the creator, maintainer and destroyer).

Surrender Unto Me

This is addressing the question about "who is the doer?" The living entity is the one who is causing all these troubles through his illicit desires. And he is also causing his enjoyments. But actually is the material nature, the prak working under the control of the three modes of material nature who is enacting everything. The living entity is desiring and getting karma, and in that sense he is the doer. Then the modes of material nature cause the transformations in the field, which cause the suffering and enjoyment of the living entities identified with matter. All this is done under the sanction of the real purusa, the Supersoul. (DS) Verse 20 describes the material nature as the cause of the different transformations. In verse 21, the living entity is said to be the cause of his sufferings and enjoyments. And in the next verse, explains how the living entity becomes associated with matter and thus enjoys or suffers.