Bhagavad Gita · Jnana Vijnana YogaChapter 7, Shloka 13 (7.13)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत्
मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्यः परमव्ययम्
॥ 7.13 ॥
tribhirguṇamayairbhāvairebhiḥ sarvamidaṃ jagat
mohitaṃ nābhijānāti māmebhyaḥ paramavyayam
Translation
"Deluded by these states made of the three gunas, this whole world does not recognise me, who am beyond them and imperishable."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. Guṇa-vikāraiḥ rāga-dveṣa-mohādi-prakāraiḥ — by the modifications of the gunas — attachment, aversion, delusion and the like; mohitam avivekitām āpāditaṃ — made to lose discernment; ebhyaḥ … paraṃ vyatiriktaṃ vilakṣaṇaṃ ca avyayaṃ … janmādi-sarva-bhāva-vikāra-varjitam — it does not know me, who am distinct from these gunas, unlike them, and free of all changes such as birth.
Acharya Ramanuja — a mind lost in "lower" things. The Lord is mad-asādhāraṇaiḥ kalyāṇa-guṇa-gaṇaiḥ tat-tad-bhogyatā-prakāraiḥ ca param utkṛṣṭatamam — the very highest in his unique auspicious qualities and also in bhogyata (the power to give joy); yet the world, deluded by nihīnataraiḥ kṣaṇa-vidhvaṃsibhiḥ — far lower things made of the gunas that perish in a moment — does not know him. And he raises the question: when the Lord, who is infinite bliss, is there, why do we take these unstable things to be enjoyable? — the answer is 7.14.
The difference: Shankara — the changeless Ishvara beyond the gunas; Ramanuja — the Lord beyond the gunas and the most blissful, leaving whom the jiva looks for happiness in the perishable.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.