पञ्चैतानि महाबाहो कारणानि निबोध मे ।साङ्ख्ये कृतान्ते प्रोक्तानि सिद्धये सर्वकर्मणाम् ॥
pañcaitāni mahābāho kāraṇāni nibodha mesāṅkhye kṛtānte proktāni siddhaye sarvakarmaṇām
These five causes, O mighty-armed, learn of Me as laid down by the Sankhya for the accomplishment of all works.
Compiled rendering · Anilbaran Roy
AI translation
Essays on the Gita
The Gita then speaks of the five causes or indispensable requisites for the accomplishment of works as laid down by the18·13–15 Sankhya. These five are, first, the frame of body, life and mind which are the basis or standing-ground of the soul in Nature, adhiṣṭhāna, next, the doer, kartā, third, the various instrumentation of Nature, karaṇa, fourth, the many kinds of effort which make up the force of action, ceṣṭāḥ, and last, Fate, daivam, that is to say, the influence of the Power or powers other than the human factors, other than the visible mechanism of Nature, that stand behind these and modify the work and dispose its fruits in the steps of act and consequence. These five elements make up among them all the efficient causes, kāraṇa, that determine the shaping and outcome of whatever work man undertakes with mind and speech and body.
