Arjuna
Devotee & WarriorThe great Pandava warrior and skilled archer. Overwhelmed by moral dilemma on the battlefield, he seeks guidance from Krishna, becoming the ideal disciple.
Speaking: Chapter 14, Verse 21
Verse 21
The Yoga of the Three Gunas
Arjuna said: O Lord, by what signs is one who has transcended these three guṇas known? What is their conduct? And how does one transcend these three guṇas?
Context & Meaning
Arjuna's question is threefold and entirely practical: How do we recognise a guṇātīta — one who has transcended the three guṇas? How do they behave in the world? And how does one actually achieve this transcendence? These are among the most important questions in the entire Gita, because they bring the abstract metaphysics of the guṇas into the domain of lived experience and practical path. The answer that follows (verses 22–26) is one of the most memorable portraits of the liberated person in world spiritual literature.
Scholar Commentaries
1 commentary · Public domainAdi Shankaracharya
AdvaitaArjuna asks three questions: the signs of transcendence, the conduct of the transcendent, and the means of transcendence. Krishna answers all three in the following verses — the signs and conduct in verses 22-25, and the means in verse 26. Together they constitute a complete portrait of the guṇātīta state.