प्रोच्यते गुणसङ्ख्याने यथावच्छृणु तान्यापे ॥ १९ ॥
jñānaṃ karma ca kartā ca tridhaiva guṇabhedataḥ .
procyate guṇasaṅkhyāne yathāvacchṛṇu tānyāpe .. 19 ..
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Action (karma) : ‘karma’ here means action (kriya). It is not used in the technical sense of the word denoting the object of an action, what is sought to be attained by means of action. Agent : the performer of acts. They are of three kinds only—This restriction is intended to imply the absence of distinctions other than that caused by the gunas.—Guṇas : such as Sattva. The science of gunas here referred to is Kapila’s system of philosophy.—Even Kapila’s science of gunas is certainly an authority so far as it concerns gunas and their experiencer (bhoktri). Though they are opposed to us as regards the supreme truth, viz., the oneness or non-duality of Brahman, still the followers of Kapila are of acknowledged authority in the exposition of the functions of gunas and of their products, and their science is therefore accepted here as an authority as serving to extol the teaching which follows. Hence no inconsistency. Hear, etc : Pay attention to the teaching which follows here, concerning knowledge and the rest, as well as their various distinctions caused by different gunas, as I describe them duly, according to science, according to reason.
Sattvic Knowledge.
Here follows the threefold character of knowledge :