Bhagavad Gita · Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga YogaChapter 13, Shloka 20 (13.20)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
कार्यकरणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिरुच्यते
पुरुषः सुखदुःखानां भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते
॥ 13.20 ॥
kāryakaraṇakartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtirucyate
puruṣaḥ sukhaduḥkhānāṃ bhoktṛtve heturucyate
Translation
"In the agency of the effect (the body) and the instruments (the senses), prakriti is said to be the cause; in the experiencing of pleasure and pain, purusha is said to be the cause."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. kāryaṃ śarīraṃ, karaṇāni tatsthāni trayodaśa — the effect = the body; the instruments = the thirteen within it (the senses, mind, intellect and ego); guṇāś ca prakṛtisaṃbhavāḥ sukhaduḥkhamohātmakāḥ karaṇāśrayatvāt karaṇagrahaṇena gṛhyante.
Acharya Ramanuja. kāryaṃ śarīraṃ kāraṇāni jñānakarmātmakāni samanaskāni indriyāṇi — the effect = the body; the "instruments" = the senses of knowledge and action, together with the mind; teṣāṃ kriyākāritve puruṣādhiṣṭhitā prakṛtiḥ eva hetuḥ — in their activity, it is prakriti, presided over by purusha, that is the cause.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.