Bhagavad Gita · Gunatraya Vibhaga YogaChapter 14, Shloka 21 (14.21)
Original Sanskrit · अर्जुनः
अर्जुन उवाच
कैर्लिङ्गैस्त्रीन् गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो
किमाचारः कथं चैतांस्त्रीन् गुणानतिवर्तते
॥ 14.21 ॥
kairliṅgaistrīn guṇānetānatīto bhavati prabho
kimācāraḥ kathaṃ caitāṃstrīn guṇānativartate
Translation
Arjuna said: "O Lord, by what signs is a person who has gone beyond these three gunas recognised? What is their conduct like? And how do they go beyond these three gunas?"
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. kaiḥ liṅgaiḥ cihnaiḥ; kaḥ asya ācāraḥ; kena ca prakāreṇa … guṇān ativartate.
Acharya Ramanuja. asya svarūpāvagateḥ liṅgabhūtācāraḥ kīdṛśaḥ — what is the conduct that serves as a sign for recognising their nature; kathaṃ ca etān kenopāyena — by what means.
Shridhara Swami. He identifies Arjuna's three questions: guṇātītasya lakṣaṇam ācāraṃ guṇātyayopāyaṃ ca samyag bubhutsuḥ — the signs of one beyond the gunas, their conduct, and the means of going beyond the gunas.
Madhusudana Saraswati. The same three questions — lakṣaṇaṃ cācāraṃ guṇātītatvopāyaṃ ca; the following verses (14.22–14.25) answer the first two, and 14.26 the third.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.