14.21 Arjuna asks for the signs Arjuna speaks

कैर्लिंगैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो
किमाचारः कथं चैतांस्त्रीन्गुणानतिवर्तते

kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān atīto bhavati prabho
kim āchāraḥ kathaṁ chaitāns trīn guṇān ativartate

By what signs is one known who has gone beyond these three strands, lord? How does such a person behave, and how do they pass beyond them?

Explanation

Arjuna asks the practical question, as he usually does.

By what signs is such a person known? How do they behave? How did they get past?

Three questions, and the same shape as 2.54 and 12.1. Whenever the book reaches a description of the liberated state, Arjuna asks what it would look like from outside — and the Gita always answers.

Word by word

arjunaḥ uvācha: Arjun inquired
kaiḥ: by what
liṅgaiḥ: symptoms
trīn: three
guṇān: modes of material nature
etān: these
atītaḥ: having transcended
bhavati: is
prabho: Lord
kim: what
āchāraḥ: conduct
katham: how
cha: and
etān: these
trīn: three
guṇān: modes of material nature
ativartate: transcend