Devanagari
एता: संसृतय: पुंसो गुणकर्मनिबन्धना: ।
येनेमे निर्जिता: सौम्य गुणा जीवेन चित्तजा: ।
भक्तियोगेन मन्निष्ठो मद्भावाय प्रपद्यते ॥ ३२ ॥
Verse text
etāḥ saṁsṛtayaḥ puṁso
guṇa-karma-nibandhanāḥ
yeneme nirjitāḥ saumya
guṇā jīvena citta-jāḥ
bhakti-yogena man-niṣṭho
mad-bhāvāya prapadyate
Synonyms
etāḥ
—
these
;
saṁsṛtayaḥ
—
created aspects of existence
;
puṁsaḥ
—
of a living being
;
guṇa
—
with the material qualities
;
karma
—
and work
;
nibandhanāḥ
—
connected
;
yena
—
by whom
;
ime
—
these
;
nirjitāḥ
—
are conquered
;
saumya
—
O gentle Uddhava
;
guṇāḥ
—
the modes of nature
;
jīvena
—
by a living entity
;
citta
—
jāḥ — which are manifested from the mind
;
bhakti
—
yogena — through the process of devotional service
;
mat
—
niṣṭhaḥ — dedicated to Me
;
mat
—
bhāvāya — of love for Me
;
prapadyate
—
receives the qualification .
Translation
O gentle Uddhava, all these different phases of conditioned life arise from work born of the modes of material nature. The living entity who conquers these modes, manifested from the mind, can dedicate himself to Me by the process of devotional service and thus attain pure love for Me.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O gentle Uddhava, all these items related to the guṇas and karma are causes of saṁsāra. The living entity conquers these guṇas, manifested from the mind, by bhakti-yoga. Dedicated only to me, he surrenders and attains a loving relation to me.
These are causes of saṁsāra (saṁsṛtayaḥ) for the jīva. Knowledge and other items are causes of saṁsāra. Śrīdhara Svāmī however says that saṁṣrtayaḥ means that the items are caused by saṁsāra. These guṇas are conquered by means of bhakti-yoga performed by the jīva. That person, dedicated to me (mat-niṣṭhaḥ), who is beyond the guṇas, surrenders to me for attaining sārūpya or for attaining dāsya, sakhya and other bhāvas for me (mad-bhāvāya). It has already been said that the devotee is beyond the guṇas and attains the Lord. Yānti mām eva nirguṇāḥ: the devotees, beyond the guṇas, attain me. (SB 11.25.22) Nirguṇo mad-apāśrayaḥ: a performer of action who has taken shelter of me alone is beyond the guṇas. (SB 11.25.26)
lakṣaṇaṁ bhakti-yogasya nirguṇasya hy udāhṛtam
ahaituky avyavahitā yā bhaktiḥ puruṣottame
It is said that quality of bhakti beyond the guṇas is that it is devoid of other results other than bhakti and is unobstructed by other processes. SB 3.29.12
By this statement and the present verse which states that by bhakti one conquers the guṇas, it is understood that bhakti is beyond the guṇas. The ingredients used in deity worship in bhakti, such as incense, flowers, fragrance, lamp, umbrella and cāmara, are all beyond the guṇas. It has also been stated that the faith of the devotees is beyond the guṇas. It is understood from the Lord that anything related to bhakti is beyond the guṇas.
Purport
The words
mad-bhāvāya prapadyate
indicate the attainment of love for God or of the same state of existence as that of the Supreme Lord. Actual liberation is residence within the eternal kingdom of God, where life is full of bliss and knowledge. The conditioned soul falsely imagines himself to be the enjoyer of the modes of nature, and thus a particular type of material work is generated, the reaction of which binds the conditioned soul to repeated birth and death. This fruitless process can be counteracted by loving service to the Lord, as described here.