Devanagari
कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे द्रव्यज्ञानक्रियाश्रया: ।
बध्नन्ति नित्यदा मुक्तं मायिनं पुरुषं गुणा: ॥ १९ ॥
Verse text
kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve
dravya-jṣāna-kriyāśrayāḥ
badhnanti nityadā muktaṁ
māyinaṁ puruṣaṁ guṇāḥ
Synonyms
kārya
—
effect
;
kāraṇa
—
cause
;
kartṛtve
—
in activities
;
dravya
—
material
;
jṣāna
—
knowledge
;
kriyā
—
āśrayāḥ — manifested by such symptoms
;
badhnanti
—
conditions
;
nityadā
—
eternally
;
muktam
—
transcendental
;
māyinam
—
affected by material energy
;
puruṣam
—
the living entity
;
guṇāḥ
—
the material modes .
Translation
These three modes of material nature, being further manifested as matter, knowledge and activities, put the eternally transcendental living entity under conditions of cause and effect and make him responsible for such activities.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The guṇas -- the cause of matter, senses and the sense devatās -- binds the jīva who is associated with māyā, but who is actually composed of knowledge, with false identities of body, senses and mind.
Purport
Because they are between the internal and external potencies, the eternally transcendental living entities are called the marginal potency of the Lord. Factually, the living entities are not meant to be so conditioned by material energy, but due to their being affected by the false sense of lording it over the material energy, they come under the influence of such potency and thus become conditioned by the three modes of material nature. This external energy of the Lord covers up the pure knowledge of the living entity’s eternally existing with Him, but the covering is so constant that it appears that the conditioned soul is eternally ignorant. Such is the wonderful action of
māyā,
or external energy manifested as if materially produced. By the covering power of the material energy, the material scientist cannot look beyond the material causes, but factually, behind the material manifestations, there are
adhibhūta, adhyātma
and
adhidaiva
actions, which the conditioned soul in the mode of ignorance cannot see. The
adhibhūta
manifestation entails repetitions of births and deaths with old age and diseases, the
adhyātma
manifestation conditions the spirit soul, and the
adhidaiva
manifestation is the controlling system. These are the material manifestations of cause and effect and the sense of responsibility of the conditioned actors. They are, after all, manifestations of the conditioned state, and the human being’s freedom from such a conditioned state is the highest perfectional attainment.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
These guṇas bind the jīva (puruṣam), a function of the Lord’s taṭastha-śakti, who associates with māyā (māyinam). By the logic of the previous statement, it is possible for the jīvas who are situated behind the Lord to be influenced independently by māyā who is also situated behind the Lord. The jīva is called eternally liberated because he has beginningless knowledge just as he has beginningless ignorance. This will be made clear at the end of the seventh chapter. How does he get bound? The states of the guṇas are present as adhibhūta (kārya), adhyātmā (kāraṇa) and adhidaiva (kartṛtve). The guṇas are the shelter or causes of matter (dravya), the senses (kriyā) and the devatās (jṣāna). The guṇas bind the jīva by these identities. The order of jṣāna and kriya in the text should be reversed for proper understanding.