Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 3/Verse 28

Chapter 3/Verse 28

तत्त्ववित्तु महाबाहो गुणकर्मविभागयोः ।
गुणा गुणेषु वर्तन्त इति मत्वा न सज्जते ॥३- २८॥

tattvavittu mahābāho guṇakarmavibhāgayoḥ ।
guṇā guṇeṣu vartanta iti matvā na sajjate ॥3- 28॥

But of knowing the truth of the two roles of guṇa and action, O Might Armed One. Having thought, "the guṇas work in the guṇas." One is not attached. 

Word-for-word translations

tattvavid (masculine, genitive, singular) = of knowing the truth

tu (conjunction) (indeclinable) = but

mahābāhas (masculine, vocative, singular) = O Mighty Armed One (epithet of Arjuna) 

guṇakarmavibhāgayos (masculine, genitive, dual) = of the two roles of guṇa and action


guṇās (masculine, nominative, plural) = guṇas

guṇeṣu (masculine, locative, plural) = in the guṇas

vartante (present tense, 3rd person, plural) = they work

iti (punctuation) (indeclinable) = (quotation marks)

matvā (gerund) (indeclinable) = having thought 

na (adverb) (indeclinable) = not

sajjate (present tense, 3rd person, singular) = he is attached