Devanagari
श्रीभगवानुवाच
गुणानामसम्मिश्राणां पुमान् येन यथा भवेत् ।
तन्मे पुरुषवर्येदमुपधारय शंसत: ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
guṇānām asammiśrāṇāṁ
pumān yena yathā bhavet
tan me puruṣa-varyedam
upadhāraya śaṁsataḥ
Synonyms
śrī
—
bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said
;
guṇānām
—
of the modes of nature
;
asammiśrāṇām
—
in their unmixed state
;
pumān
—
a person
;
yena
—
by which mode
;
yathā
—
how
;
bhavet
—
he becomes
;
tat
—
that
;
me
—
by Me
;
puruṣa
—
varya — O best among men
;
idam
—
this
;
upadhāraya
—
please try to understand
;
śaṁsataḥ
—
as I speak .
Translation
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O best among men, please listen as I describe to you how the living entity attains a particular nature by association with individual material modes.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Supreme Lord said: O best among men, please listen as I describe to you how the living entity attains a particular nature by association with individual guṇas in their unmixed forms.
In the Twenty-fifth Chapter, the functions of the guṇas and various objects affected by the guṇas, as well as objects beyond the guṇas are described in sequence.
The functions of the three guṇas are described because as long as one does not conquer the actions of the three guṇas one continues to identify with the body even if one can distinguish the body from the ātmā by Sāṅkhya. The guṇas are mixed but I will describe the guṇas not mixed with each other. Please understand as I speak (śaṁsataḥ) how a person is affected by each guṇa.
Purport
The word
asammiśra
indicates that which is not mixed with anything else. Lord Kṛṣṇa now explains how each of the three material modes (goodness, passion and ignorance), acting separately, causes a conditioned soul to manifest a particular type of existence. The living entity is ultimately transcendental to the modes of nature, being part and parcel of Lord Kṛṣṇa, but in conditioned life he manifests material qualities. This is described in the following verses.