Devanagari
गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान् ।
जन्ममृत्युजरादु:खैर्विमुक्तोऽमृतमश्नुते ॥ २० ॥
Verse text
guṇān etān atītya trīn
dehī deha-samudbhavān
janma-mṛtyu-jarā-duḥkhair
vimukto ’mṛtam aśnute
Synonyms
guṇān
—
qualities
;
etān
—
all these
;
atītya
—
transcending
;
trīn
—
three
;
dehī
—
the embodied
;
deha
—
the body
;
samudbhavān
—
produced of
;
janma
—
of birth
;
mṛtyu
—
death
;
jarā
—
and old age
;
duḥkhaiḥ
—
the distresses
;
vimuktaḥ
—
being freed from
;
amṛtam
—
nectar
;
aśnute
—
he enjoys.
Translation
When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes associated with the material body, he can become free from birth, death, old age and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
20. Surpassing the three guṇas which give rise to the body, free from the suffering of birth, death and old age, one attains eternal life.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
20. Surpassing the three guṇas which give rise to the body, free from the suffering of birth, death and old age, one attains eternal life.
Purport
How one can stay in the transcendental position, even in this body, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is explained in this verse. The Sanskrit word dehī means “embodied.” Although one is within this material body, by his advancement in spiritual knowledge he can be free from the influence of the modes of nature. He can enjoy the happiness of spiritual life even in this body because, after leaving this body, he is certainly going to the spiritual sky. But even in this body he can enjoy spiritual happiness. In other words, devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the sign of liberation from material entanglement, and this will be explained in the Eighteenth Chapter. When one is freed from the influence of the modes of material nature, he enters into devotional service.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
That person is beyond the guṇas. That is explained in this verse.
arjuna uvaca
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
The Lord clarifies the meaning of His previous statement about attaining mad bhāvam.
Though the ātmā is situated in the body, by the power of distinguishing jīva from the guṇas, he overcomes the three guṇas which give rise to the body (deha samudbhavān) and, freed from birth, death, old age and suffering, experiences the ātmā (amṛtam). Thus mad bhāvam of the previous verse can mean “beyond saṁsāra” in the sense of being deathless (amṛtam), or “becoming qualified for My pure bhakti.” The verse brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā explains this: having attained the state of brahman, being a pure soul, he does not lament in loss of what he has or desire for he does not have, and looks upon all beings as equal; he then attains prema bhakti. (BG 18.54)
a
Surrender Unto Me
Then Arjuna inquires,
[2. Arjuna inquires about the symptoms of one who has transcend the modes and the means that one can transcend. Krsna answers that one who has transcended sees the modes working and remains unwaveringly fixed in the self despite the presence of attachment, illusion, illumination, happiness, distress, praise, infamy, friends, or enemies. (21‑25) ]