FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 3.27

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः । अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥ २७ ॥
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
[prakriteh kriyamaanaani]
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
[gunaih karmaani sarvashah]
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
[ahankaara-vimoodhaatmaa]
kartāham iti manyate
[kartaaham iti manyate]
Word-for-word
prakṛteḥ — of material nature kriyamāṇāni — being done guṇaiḥ — by the modes karmāṇi — activities sarvaśaḥ — all kinds of ahaṅkāra - vimūḍha — bewildered by false ego ātmā — the spirit soul kartā — doer aham — I iti — thus manyate — he thinks .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
prakṛteḥ
of material nature
kriyamāṇāni
being done
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
guṇaiḥ
by the modes
karmāṇi
activities
sarvaśaḥ
all kinds of
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
ahaṅkāra - vimūḍha
bewildered by false ego
ātmā
the spirit soul
kartāham iti manyate
kartā
doer
aham
I
iti
thus
manyate
he thinks .
Important Words
  • prakṛteḥ — of material nature
    Genitive of prakṛti — primordial nature. The actual cause of all action. The verse strips action's authorship from the soul and returns it to prakṛti's department.
  • guṇaiḥ — by the modes
    Instrumental plural. The three guṇas are the *actual instruments* of every embodied act. Echoes 3.5; the chapter keeps repeating this point because the false ego is hard of hearing.
  • ahaṅkāra - vimūḍha — bewildered by false ego
    Compound: ahaṅkāra (I-maker) + vimūḍha (utterly deluded). The technical name of the disease — ahaṅkāra, the faculty that constructs 'I' where there is only soul-witnessing-modes.
  • kartā — doer
    From √kṛ — the agent of action. The whole verse pivots on this misattribution: prakṛti is the kartā, but ahaṅkāra-vimūḍha-ātman *thinks* (manyate) himself the kartā. Two of the most ego-thick syllables in Sanskrit when joined with aham following — *kartāham*.
  • manyate — he thinks
    From √man, to think — same root as manas. The deluded does not *do* — he merely *thinks* he did. The whole error is located in cognition, not in capacity.
The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
The ahaṅkāra-diagnosis. Prakṛti's guṇas drive all natural action; the ego falsely claims authorship. 'I did it' is a structural illusion — and the source of bondage. To see through this is the first step out of saṁsāra.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
A foundational Sāṅkhya-Yoga doctrine: agency belongs to prakṛti, not to puruṣa. The 'I am the doer' thought (kartā ahaṁ iti) is what binds. Compare BG 5.8–9, 13.29, 18.16. The verse does not deny that action happens, only that the empirical 'I' is its true source. Karma-yoga's asakti is the practical answer to this metaphysical mistake.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
कर्माणि सर्वशः प्रकृतेः गुणैः क्रियमाणानि (सन्ति); अहङ्कार-विमूढ-आत्मा 'अहम् कर्ता' इति मन्यते।
karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ prakṛteḥ guṇaiḥ kriyamāṇāni (santi); ahaṅkāra-vimūḍha-ātmā 'aham kartā' iti manyate|
Actions are in every way being performed by the guṇas of prakṛti; (yet) one whose self is deluded by ahaṅkāra thinks, 'I am the doer.'
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः । अहङ्कार-विमूढ-आत्मा कर्ता अहम् इति मन्यते ॥
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ | ahaṅkāra-vimūḍha-ātmā kartā aham iti manyate ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
प्रकृतेः prakṛteḥ प्रकृति (f.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) of prakṛti
क्रियमाणानि kriyamāṇāni √कृ pass. (passive) pres. (present)part. nom.pl. (nominative plural)n. being performed
गुणैः guṇaiḥ गुण (m.) ins.pl. (instrumental plural) by the guṇas
कर्माणि karmāṇi कर्मन् (n.) nom.pl. (nominative plural) actions
सर्वशः sarvaśaḥ ind. (indeclinable), adv. in every way
अहङ्कार-विमूढ-आत्मा ahaṅkāra-vimūḍha-ātmā अहङ्कार + विमूढ (p.p.p. (past passive participle)) + आत्मन् nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) one whose self is deluded by ego
कर्ता kartā √कृ tṛn-suffix → कर्तृ nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. doer
अहम् aham अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular) I
इति iti ind. (indeclinable), quotative thus
मन्यते manyate √मन् pres. (present) 3sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) thinks
Purport

Two persons, one in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the other in material consciousness, working on the same level, may appear to be working on the same platform, but there is a wide gulf of difference in their respective positions. The person in material consciousness is convinced by false ego that he is the doer of everything. He does not know that the mechanism of the body is produced by material nature, which works under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. The materialistic person has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of Kṛṣṇa. The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his nescience. He does not know that this gross and subtle body is the creation of material nature, under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and as such his bodily and mental activities should be engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The ignorant man forgets that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as Hṛṣīkeśa, or the master of the senses of the material body, for due to his long misuse of the senses in sense gratification, he is factually bewildered by the false ego, which makes him forget his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
27. The person bewildered by pride thinks that he is the doer of actions which are being done completely by the senses made of prakṛti.
Commentary

The doubt may arise: how to distinguish the person in knowledge (vidvān) from the ignorant person, if the man in knowledge also performs actions. Two verses explain the difference. The ignorant person thinks that he is the performer of all the actions, which are actually performed completely by the material senses, which in turn are the products of the guṇas (prakṛteḥ guṇaih).

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
27. The person bewildered by pride thinks that he is the doer of actions which are being done completely by the body, senses and prāṇas made of prakṛti.
Commentary

Though one should be tolerant of those persons absorbed in karma, the difference between the person in knowledge and the person in ignorance is expressed in two verses. The person bewildered by false ego thinks that he is the doer of activities. By the sutra na lokāvyaya-niṣṭhā (Pāṇini 2.3.69) genitive case is not used to express the agent or the object when the word is governed by certain active participles or nouns of agency such as karta. The accusative case is instead used to denote the object. He who is bewildered by ego thinks “I am the doer (kartā) of the activities (karmāṇi).” Thus karmāṇi (accusitive case) is used instead of the genitive case karmāṇām. The actions are described. He thinks he is the doer of all actions actions (karmāṇi) whether non-prescribed or prescribed by the Vedas, which are in fact performed by the products (guṇaiḥ) of the Lord’s māyā (prakṛteḥ), in the form of the body, senses and prāṇas, impelled into action by the Lord. The following should be understood by determining the intention of the statement. The jīvātmā, with a body made of knowledge (saṁvit), has a sense of ‘I’ and is actually the doer. But overcome with impressions (vāsanā) of enjoying material sense objects from begenningless time, he is embraced by prakṛti, who is situated next to him, who is the cause of his pleasure. Through false ego, a product of prakṛti, he becomes bewildered, devoid of knoweldge of the self,thinking himself to be a material body. He then thinks that the activities which are accomplished by the Lord and the material body, senses and life airs, are being done only by himself. [Note: As a human being, the free will and responsibility of the jīva never disappears, in spite of karma and desire. However his actions can only be performed along with prakṛti in the form of the body, senses, prāṇas and the consent of the Lord. How the jīva can conquer over the influence of karma and svabhāva is discussed at the end of the chapter.] The doership of the ātmā is only made possible by the body, senses and life airs, and by the paramātmā, who is the activator of all things. The jīva is not the only factor. That the jīva thinks that he is the only doer is a result of bewilderment from false ego. This is understood from three verses in the eighteenth chapter starting with adhiṣṭhānaṁ tathā karthā . (BG 18.14) The verse kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtir ucyate (BG 13.18) describes prakṛti as the doer through the body and senses, but it is not possible to consider that prakṛti is the only doer because one must accept that prakrti comes into action only by contact with the Lord. Therefore it will be explained later that the doership of the Lord can never be rejected.

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

COMMON THEME: Differences in consciousness of ‘Ignorant’ (Material consciousness) and ‘Knower of

Absolute Truth’ (Krishna consciousness)

Study purports 3.25; 3.27 – 3.28 to find out the differences in the following points:

ATTACHED WORKER (Ignorance) vs DETACHED WORKER (Knower of Absolute Truth)

S.

NO

DIFFERENTIATING

THEME

ATTACHED WORKER (3.27)

DETACHED WORKER (3.28)

‘One’ differentiating

factor – Desire

Desires own sense gratification
Desires Krishna’s satisfaction

Convictions

Convinced by false ego that he is the doer of everything
Convinced of his awkward position in material association

Knowledge of

Identity

Does not know that body is produced by material nature which works under the supervision of the Lord
Does not know that he is under the control of Krishna
Symptoms of nescience (Ignorance or not knowing) –One takes all the credit for doing things independently
Knows his real identity as part and parcel of the Supreme, who is eternal bliss and knowledge
Knows that somehow he is entrapped in the material conception of life
Meaning of “tattva-vit” – Ref. SB One who knows the Absolute Truth in three different features and knows one’s factual position in relationship with the Supreme

Engagements

Does not engage his bodily and mental activity in the service of Krishna; because he forgets that the Supreme Lord is Hrsikesha (The master of the senses)
Engages himself in the activities of Krishna consciousness and thus naturally gets unattached from activities of material senses

Consequences

One forgets the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Consequence of knowledge is that he is not disturbed by all kinds of material reactions; and considers all reactions to be the mercy of the Lord

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 3.25 & 3.26: If a person in knowledge is expected to set an example, then why

don’t they set an example of renunciation? ANSWER: Most people are not qualified to follow the

example of renunciation. If an attached person renounces worldly responsibilities, he will eventually try to

fulfill desires through irresponsible means

Text 3.26* & Text 3.29

COMMON THEME: How a ‘Detached man’ relates to a ‘Man in ignorance’

Not agitate their minds attached to fruitive activities
Not induce them to stop work
Engage them in all activities for gradual Krishna consciousness

Focus of Learning

(a) Why a self-realized soul should not disturb others who are attached to ‘fruitive acts’ (3.26)

Vedic rituals lead to ultimate goal – Ref. Bg. 15.15 All Vedic rituals are meant for understanding Krishna, the ultimate goal of life
Conditioned souls study Vedas to a limited end – Conditioned souls do not know anything beyond sense gratification and they study the Vedas to that end
Give conditioned soul a chance for gradual elevation – Through regulated fruitive activities and sense gratification as per Vedic rituals, one is gradually elevated to Krishna consciousness

(b) What is the end of all Vedic rituals (3.26)

Ref. Bg. 15.15 All Vedic rituals are meant for understanding Krishna, the ultimate goal of life

(c) Definition of ‘Manda’ and what are their activities (3.29)

‘Manda’ – A lazy person who is too much attached to the bodily consciousness without the understanding of the spirit soul
Their activities
Accept bodily connections with others as kinsmanship, land of birth as the object of worship and formalities of religious rituals as ends in themselves
Engages in social work, nationalism and altruism

(d) How devotees are more kind than Lord (3.29)

Lord recommends that for such people spiritual realisation is a myth
One should not try to agitate materially engrossed persons; better to prosecute one’s own spiritual activities
Such bewildered persons may be engaged in primary moral principles of life as non-violence and similar materially benevolent work
But devotees know the heart of the Lord – They undertake all kinds of risks to engage ignorant men in Krishna consciousness (The Absolute necessity for living entity)

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF TEXTS 3.26 & 3.29

One who realizes the futility of materialistic activities should not encourage the masses to give up work prematurely
Instead he should encourage them to work by his own example
Engaging in the prescribed process of purification slowly but surely brings one to genuine self-realisation, but premature renunciation simply makes one a social parasite

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 3.29 & 3.30: While the past several verses have stressed niskama-karma-yoga

(detached work), the next verse describes bhakti.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
3.27 Karmani kriyamanani, while actions, secular and scriptural, are being done; sarvasah, in ever way; gunaih, by the gunas, (i.e.) by the modifications in the form of body and organs; (born) prakrteh, of Nature-Nature, (otherwise known as) Pradhana [Pradhana, Maya, the Power of God.], being the state of eilibrium of the three alities of sattva, rajas and tamas; ahankara-vimudha-atma, one who is deluded by egoism; manyate, thinks; iti, thus; 'Aham karta, I am the doer.' Ahankara is self-identification with the aggregate of body and organs. He whose atma, mind, is vimudham, diluded in diverse ways, by that (ahankara) is ahankara-vimudha-atma. He who imagines the characteristics of the body and organs to be his own, who has self-identification with the body and the organs, and who, through ignorance, believes the activities to be his own-, he thinks, 'I am the doer of those diverse activities.'
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
3.27 It is the Gunas of Prakrti like Sattva, Rajas etc., that perform all the activities appropriate to them. But the man, whose nature is deluded by his Ahankara, thinks, 'I am the doer of all these actions.' Ahankara is the mistaken conception of 'I' applied to the workings of Prakrti which is not the 'I'. The meaning is that it is because of this (Ahankara), that one who is ignorant of the real nature of the self, thinks, 'I am the doer' with regard to the activities that are really being done by the Gunas of Prakrti.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
3.27 Prakreh etc. Indeed the actions are performed by the Strands, Sattva etc., belonging to the Prakrti. But the fool unnecessarily binds himself by wrongly comprehending 'I' am the doer'.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
3.27 All actions are wrought in all cases by the alities of Nature only. He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks, "I am the doer."
Commentary

3.27 प्रकृतेः of nature? क्रियमाणानि are performed? गुणैः by the alities? कर्माणि actions? सर्वशः in all cases? अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा one whose mind is deluded by egosim? कर्ता doer? अहम् I? इति thus? मन्यते thinks.Commentary Prakriti or Pradhana or Nature is that state in which the three Gunas? viz.? Sattva? Rajas and Tamas exist in a state of eilibrium. When this eilibrium is disturbed? creation begins body? senses? mind? etc.? are formed. The man who is deluded by egoism identifies the Self with the body? mind? the life force and the senses and ascribes to the Self all the attributes of the body and the senses. He? therefore? thinks through ignorance? I am the doer. In reality the Gunas of Nature perform all actions. (Cf.III.29V.9IX.9?10XIII.21?24?30?32XVIII.13?14).

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
3.27 While actions are being done in every way by the gunas (alities) of Nature, one who is deluded by egoism thinks thus: 'I am the doer.'
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
3.27 Action is the product of the Qualities inherent in Nature. It is only the ignorant man who, misled by personal egotism, says: I am the doer.'
Related values & verses
Primary values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 3.28 BG 5.8 BG 13.30 SB 11.22.37 SB 3.26.7 SB 3.27.1 CC Madhya 20.119 CC Madhya 24.137 CC Ādi 5.142 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.1Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.16
Concepts
Maya
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
All actions are performed by the modes of nature; the soul, deluded by false ego, thinks 'I am the doer.'
Practical Applications
  • Notice when you say 'I did this' — and gently re-attribute to Kṛṣṇa and nature.
  • Take less credit and less blame; both are ego.
  • Practice 'instrument' consciousness — you are the flute, He is the player.
Reflection Questions
  • Where is the false ego claiming authorship of recent results?
  • What freedom would arise from genuine instrument-consciousness?
Analogy

A passenger sitting in a train decides he is the one moving the landscape. The wheels turn, the engine pulls, the rails run — and the passenger, looking out, says 'I am traveling.' False ego is exactly this category confusion.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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