Now the Lord proceeds to teach how he attains to it.
गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान् ।
जन्ममृत्युजरादुःखैर्विमुक्तोऽमृतमश्नुते ॥ २० ॥
guṇānetānatītya trīndehī dehasamudbhavān .
janmamṛtyujarāduḥkhairvimukto’mṛtamaśnute .. 20 ..
Read the commentary
The wise man crosses, while still alive, beyond the three gunas which constitute the upadhi of Māyā † and the seed out of which the body is evolved. He is emancipated, while still alive, from birth, death, decay and pain, and attains to immortality: in this way he attains to My being.
The three gunas are the constituents of Maya, the upadhi, and are the source of all evil.—A.
The marks of a liberated soul.
When it was said that (the wise man) crosses beyond the gunas and attains to immortality while still alive, Arjuna found an occasion for a question and asked :