त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत् | मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्यः परमव्ययम् ||१३||
tribhir guṇamayair bhāvair ebhiḥ sarvam idaṃ jagat | mohitaṃ nābhijānāti māmebhyaḥ param avyayam || 13 ||
Deluded by the three guṇa-constituted states, all this world does not recognize Me — beyond them, imperishable.
Word by word (3)
- tribhiḥ guṇamayaiḥ bhāvaiḥ ebhiḥ sarvam idaṃ jagat mohitam
- — deluded by these three guṇa-constituted states, all this world · tribhiḥ = by three (instrumental). guṇamayaiḥ = made of guṇas, constituted by guṇas (guṇa = the three qualities; maya = made of, pervaded by). bhāvaiḥ = by states/modes (instrumental plural of bhāva). ebhiḥ = by these (the sāttvic, rājasic, tāmasic states of V12). sarvam idam jagat = all this world (sarva = all; idam = this; jagat = the world). mohitam = deluded, bewildered (past participle of √muh — to be confused, to be enchanted, to lose clarity — the root of moha/delusion, māyā's effect on consciousness). The state of the world: all of it (sarvam) is mohita (deluded/bewildered) by the three guṇa-constituted modes of existence. This is not a moral judgment — it is a phenomenological description: the guṇas create a compelling field of experience that absorbs consciousness and prevents it from seeing what is beyond them.
- na abhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam
- — does not recognize Me, who am beyond these and imperishable · na = not. abhijānāti = does not recognize, does not directly know (abhi + √jñā = to fully/directly know — a stronger compound than the simple jñā; the 'abhi' prefix indicates complete, direct recognition). mām = Me. ebhyaḥ = than/beyond these (ablative — 'beyond these three guṇas'). param = beyond, transcendent (the same para of V5's parā-prakṛti). avyayam = imperishable, immutable (a-vyaya = without diminishing, without spending down — eternal and changeless). The consequence of moha: the world deluded by the guṇas does not recognize (na abhijānāti) Krishna who IS beyond them (ebhyaḥ param) and imperishable (avyayam). The very field that comes from Krishna (V12's mattaḥ eva) creates the cognitive obstruction that prevents recognition of Krishna. This is the paradox of māyā: the Divine's own creative expression veils the Divine.
- moha (delusion) — the mechanism by which guṇa-states veil the Divine
- — the guṇas enchant consciousness so completely that the ground (the Divine) becomes invisible — the paradox of māyā · Moha (from √muh = to be confused, enchanted, bewildered) is the direct consequence of guṇa-saturation: when consciousness is fully absorbed in the drama of sāttvic, rājasic, and tāmasic experience — their pleasures, conflicts, drives, and resolutions — it loses sight of the ground in which all this drama occurs. The gems (V7) are so compelling that the thread becomes invisible. This is not stupidity — it is the structural consequence of embodied existence in a guṇa-saturated world. V13 describes the default human condition: absorbed in guṇa-states, missing the ground. V14 gives the remedy; V15 describes those for whom the remedy is unavailable; V16+ describes those who have found it.
V13 describes the default human condition: the entire world (sarvam jagat) is mohita (deluded/bewildered) by the three guṇa-states of V12. Because of this delusion, the world does not recognize Krishna — who is beyond all three guṇas (ebhyaḥ param) and imperishable (avyayam). The paradox: the very field that comes FROM the Divine (V12) veils the Divine from ordinary perception.
A modern analogy
Someone so deeply absorbed in a movie that they forget they are in a cinema — the characters, plot, and emotions of the film completely occupy their attention, and the fact that they are sitting in a room watching projected light on a screen completely escapes their notice. The cinema (the Divine ground) is present throughout the film; the absorption in the film (moha) is what prevents its recognition. V13's world is in exactly this state — absorbed in the film of guṇa-experience.
What it does NOT mean
V13 does NOT say the world is stupid or condemned. Moha (delusion) is not a moral failure but a structural condition of guṇa-saturated existence — the default state that V14's remedy addresses. V13 is a diagnosis, not a condemnation.
Take with you
- V13 diagnoses the human default: guṇa-absorption produces moha, which blocks recognition of the Divine ground. This is the Gita's answer to 'why doesn't everyone see the Divine?' Not because the Divine is absent, but because the guṇa-field is compelling and veiling.
- V13 + V14 read together: V13 is the problem (moha from guṇas); V14 is the solution (take refuge in Me, cross māyā). The diagnosis leads directly to the remedy.
- 'Beyond them, imperishable' (ebhyaḥ param avyayam) — the Divine that is veiled by moha is not a distant or rare reality; it is the ground always present, but overlooked because of guṇa-absorption. Liberation is not reaching a new place but seeing clearly what was always here.
V13 is the Gita's most direct statement of the problem that Ch.7's teaching addresses: the universal delusion (moha) produced by guṇa-absorption. V12 established that the guṇas come from the Divine; V13 shows the consequence — the guṇas, despite coming from the Divine, veil the Divine from ordinary perception. This is the paradox of māyā that pervades the Gita's middle section (Ch.7-12). The key word is 'na abhijānāti' (does not directly recognize). The world does not lack information ABOUT the Divine — the Vedas, the teachers, the scriptures are available. What is lacking is abhijñāna — direct, firsthand recognition. The guṇas produce the cognitive and experiential conditions that prevent this direct recognition. They do so not by filling the mind with false information but by absorbing attention in their drama, leaving no cognitive space for the recognition of what is beyond them. The qualification 'param avyayam' (beyond them, imperishable) is significant: what the world fails to recognize is not something exotic or distant — it is the very ground that is ALREADY beyond the guṇas (param) and ALREADY imperishable (avyayam). Liberation is not achieving a new state; it is recognizing what was always the case.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: V13's moha is the effect of avidyā (ignorance) — the fundamental misidentification of the ātman with the guṇa-produced body-mind. The world deluded by the guṇas is the world in avidyā, which projects multiplicity onto the non-dual Brahman and mistakes the guṇa-field for ultimate reality. V14's remedy (taking refuge) is the first step toward the jñāna that dissolves avidyā.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti traditions, V13's moha is what prevents the devotee from recognizing the Beloved who is always present. The guṇas of ordinary experience (relationships, achievements, pleasures, pains) so absorb the heart that it forgets its primary love. Bhajana (devotional practice) is the remedy that, by repeatedly turning the heart toward the Beloved, breaks the moha.
Karma-Yoga lens
V13 contextualizes why karma yoga is necessary: the world absorbed in guṇa-driven action (action motivated by craving and attachment) perpetuates its own moha. Only karma yoga — action free from craving, offered to the Divine — begins to break the cycle, because it gradually loosens the guṇa-absorption by not feeding the attachment that sustains it.
Modern parallels
Behavioral psychology's concept of 'cognitive capture' — where habitual patterns of thought and behavior so dominate consciousness that alternative framings become inaccessible — parallels V13's moha. The guṇa-field produces a form of cognitive capture that makes the Divine ground invisible not by active suppression but by consuming the available cognitive bandwidth with guṇa-drama.
Practice
V13 deprogramming: at the start of a meditation session, acknowledge: 'I am mohita — absorbed in the guṇa-field in my ordinary waking life. This session is a moment of stepping out of the film to remember the cinema.' Then practice: release the content of the guṇa-field (thoughts, emotions, sensations as objects) and rest in the awareness that contains them. This is the practical movement from V13's moha toward V14's refuge.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
Deluded by these three guṇa-constituted states, all this world does not recognize Me, who am beyond them and imperishable. [1]
Deluded by these states, the modifications of the three Gunas of Prakriti, all this world does not know Me who is beyond them, and immutable. [4]
Deluded by these three-fold states of nature, composed of the gunas, the world knoweth Me not who am beyond them and immutable. [5]
All this world, deluded by these three-fold qualities of nature, has no knowledge of me who am above them and imperishable. [6]
All this visible world is led astray, for that it knows Me not, who am beyond these changes, and who change not; all the world is blind with the bewilderment of the Qualities. [7]
All this world, deluded by these three guṇa-produced states, knows not Me, who am beyond them and immutable. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
All sāttvic, rājasic, and tāmasic states proceed from Me — yet I am not in them; they are in Me.
This divine māyā of Mine, made of the guṇas, is hard to cross — but those who take refuge in Me alone do cross it.
Knowing this you will not fall into delusion again — you will see all beings in the Self, and thus in Me.
Veiled by yoga-māyā, I am not manifest to all — this deluded world does not recognize Me, the Unborn, the Imperishable.
Darkness, inertness, heedlessness, and delusion arise — know that tamas is predominant.
The fruit of sattvic action is pure; the fruit of rajas is pain; the fruit of tamas is ignorance.