तत्रैवम् सति कर्तारम् आत्मानं केवलं तु यः । पश्यत्य् अकृतबुद्धित्वान् न स पश्यति दुर्मतिः ॥
tatraivam sati kartāram ātmānaṃ kevalaṃ tu yaḥ | paśyaty akṛta-buddhitvān na sa paśyati durmatiḥ ||
One who — given the five causes — sees the self alone as doer due to unrefined intellect sees not; that is durmati.
Word by word (3)
- tatra evam sati kartāram ātmānaṃ kevalaṃ tu yaḥ paśyati
- — things being thus (tatra evam sati = in this five-cause reality), who (yaḥ) sees (paśyati) the self/ātman (ātmānam) as the sole/alone agent (kartāram kevalam = doer alone) — despite the five-cause structure just described
- akṛta-buddhitvān
- — due to unrefined/unpurified intelligence (akṛta = not-made/unrefined + buddhi = intelligence + tvāt = due to) — the cause of the false vision: the buddhi (intellect) that has not been refined through sattva/tapas/tyāga practices cannot see the five-cause reality
- na sa paśyati durmatiḥ
- — that person (sa) of perverted/deluded mind (durmatiḥ = bad-minded/deluded-minded) does not see (na paśyati) — the double negation: 'sees' is negated by na, and durmatiḥ explains why — deluded mind cannot perceive five-cause reality
But one who, despite this five-fold causation, sees the self alone as the doer — owing to unrefined intellect — that person of perverted mind does not truly see.
A modern analogy
V16 is the epistemic indictment: one who says 'I did this entirely by myself' — given that five causes are always at work — is like a musician who claims 'I alone created that symphony' while ignoring the instrument (karaṇa), the composer's tradition (daiva), the concert hall acoustics (adhiṣṭhāna), and the physical mechanics of sound (ceṣṭā). The ego-doer claim is philosophically naive and ethically dangerous (it produces kāmya action and fruit-attachment).
V16 draws the negative conclusion from V13-15's five-cause analysis: 'the one who sees the self alone as the agent (despite the five causes) is not seeing.' Akṛta-buddhitva (unrefined intelligence) is the cause; durmati (perverted mind) is the result. V17 will give the positive: the one who is free from ego-doer-sense and tainted mind does not really 'kill' even while killing (free from karma-bondage). V16-17 together form the definitive karma yoga epistemology: correct understanding of causation → freedom from karma-bondage.
Kevalam (alone/only) is the key qualifier: the problem is not seeing the self as ONE of the five causes (which is accurate) but as the SOLE cause (kevala kartā). This excessive attribution of causation to the ego-self generates karma-bondage. The durmati (bad-minded) person creates their own prison by claiming total authorship of actions. The pañca-kāraṇa teaching (V14) is the antidote: once the other four causes are genuinely seen, the ego's claim to exclusive authorship dissolves.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
MISSING from index. [1]
Such being the case, he who through a non-purified understanding looks upon his Self, the Absolute, as the agent — he of perverted mind sees not. [4]
That being so, the undiscerning man, who being of an unrefined understanding, sees the agent in the immaculate self, sees not rightly. [9]
That being so, he that, owing to an unrefined understanding, beholds his own self as solely the agent, he, dull in mind, beholds not. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
One with no ego-doer-sense, whose buddhi is untainted — even while killing all these beings, kills not, is not bound.
Unable even to act for My sake? Then take refuge in Me, abandon all fruits of action — with self-restraint.
Non-attachment + no identity-fusion with son/wife/home — and constant equanimity in good fortune and bad: this is jñāna.
Sattva, rajas, or tamas — each can become dominant over the others, alternating in every mind.
Sitting as a neutral — unmoved by guṇas, knowing 'guṇas act' — firm, unshaken, the pure witness.
Mental tapas: serenity of mind, kindliness, silence, self-restraint, and purity of motive/bhāva.