सत्त्वं प्रकृतिजैर्मुक्तं यदेभिः स्यात्त्रिभिर्गुणैः ॥ ४० ॥
na tadasti pṛthivyāṃ vā divi deveṣu vā punaḥ .
sattvaṃ prakṛtijairmuktaṃ yadebhiḥ syāttribhirguṇaiḥ .. 40 ..
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Being : animate or inanimate. Guṇas : such as Sattva. On Earth : among men.
The sequel sums up the whole Doctrine.
The whole samsara, manifested as action, instruments of action, and results, made up of the gunas (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas), and set up by avidya,—the evil of samsara has been thus described as well as its root. It has also been figuratively represented as a tree, in xv. 1, et seq. It has also been said that after having cut the tree of samsara asunder with the strong sword of non-attachment, “Then That Goal should be sought after” (xv. 3, 4). From this it may follow that, as everything is made up of the three gunas, a cessation of the cause of samsara cannot be brought about. Now, it is with a view to show how its cessation can be brought about, with a view, further, to sum up the whole teaching of the Gītā-śāstra, and with a view to show what the exact teaching of the Vedas and the smritis is which should be followed by those who seek to attain the highest end of man,—it is with this view that the next section, from xviii. 41 onward, is commenced.