13.21 Which one does, which one feels Krishna speaks
कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिरुच्यते
पुरुषः सुखदुःखानां भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते
kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛitve hetuḥ prakṛitir uchyate
puruṣhaḥ sukha-duḥkhānāṁ bhoktṛitve hetur uchyate
Nature is said to be the ground of cause and effect and of doing; the person is said to be the ground of the experience of pleasure and pain.
Explanation
A clean division of labour.
Nature is the ground of cause, effect and doing. The person is the ground of the experience of pleasure and pain.
One does; the other feels. Almost every confusion the book has diagnosed — chapter 3's doership, chapter 5's I do nothing at all, chapter 14's strands — is a case of these two being run together.
Word by word
- kārya
- effect
- kāraṇa
- cause
- kartṛitve
- in the matter of creation
- hetuḥ
- the medium
- prakṛitiḥ
- the material energy
- uchyate
- is said to be
- puruṣhaḥ
- the individual soul
- sukha-duḥkhānām
- of happiness and distress
- bhoktṛitve
- in experiencing
- hetuḥ
- is responsible
- uchyate
- is said to be
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