Commentary

Commentary

This verse serves as a powerful summary and transition. After the extensive analysis of knowledge, action, doer, intellect, determination, and happiness — each classified into three modes — Krishna now declares the universality of the gunas: no being whatsoever is free from their influence.

The scope is total: not on earth (prithivyaam), not in the higher realms (divi), not even among the devas (deveshu). From the lowest creature to the most exalted demigod, every being born of material nature (prakritijaih) is under the influence of sattva, rajas, and tamas in varying proportions.

This is not a statement of despair but of clear-eyed realism. As long as the soul is entangled in material nature, the gunas will operate. The entire creation — including the heavenly planets and their divine inhabitants — is within the domain of prakriti.

Lord Krishna is summarizing the influence of the three modes of material nature over the entire universe. No entity in any corner of creation — whether on this earth, in the higher planetary systems, or even among the demigods — is free from the influence of these three gunas. This sets the stage for what follows: the path beyond the gunas, through devotion and surrender to the Supreme.