Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 3 › Verse 29
Bhagavad Gītā 3.29: Patience with others
प्रकृतेर्गुणसम्मूढाः सज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु ।
तानकृत्स्नविदो मन्दान्कृत्स्नविन्न विचालयेत् ॥
prakṛterguṇasammūḍhāḥ sajjante guṇakarmasu
tānakṛtsnavido mandānkṛtsnavinna vicālayet
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
Those deluded by the guṇas of prakṛti are attached to the works of the guṇas; one who knows the whole should not unsettle those of partial knowledge and slow understanding. This repeats the counsel of 3.26: understanding grows in its own time, and the knower should not disturb it.
For children
Krishna says: “If someone doesn’t understand yet, be patient. Don’t upset them; help them gently.”
Kṛṣṇa repeats his advice from 3.26: the wise should be patient with those still learning.
Word by word
प्रकृतेर्गुणसम्मूढाः — Confused by the qualities of nature
- prakṛti: nature
- guṇa: quality
- sammūḍha: confused
सज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु — people get attached to what those qualities do
- sajjante: get attached
- guṇakarman: the workings of the qualities
तानकृत्स्नविदो मन्दान् — those who see only part of the truth
- akṛtsnavid: one who knows only part
- manda: slow to understand
कृत्स्नविन्न विचालयेत् — the one who sees the whole should not unsettle
- kṛtsnavid: one who knows the whole
- vicālayet: should unsettle
Kṛṣṇa speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.