arjuna uvāca kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān atīto bhavati prabho kim-ācāraḥ kathaṁ caitāṁs trīn guṇān ativartate
"Arjuna said: By what marks is one who has transcended these three gunas known, O Lord? What is their conduct? And how does one transcend these three gunas?"
What This Means:
Arjuna asks three practical questions: (1) What are the signs of someone who has transcended the gunas? (2) How do they behave? (3) How does one actually transcend them?
Going Deeper:
Three crucial inquiries: 'kaiḥ liṅgaiḥ'—by what marks/signs? (How to recognize the liberated?) 'kim-ācāraḥ'—what is their conduct? (How do they live in the world?) 'katham ativartate'—how does one transcend? (What is the method?) Arjuna wants practical guidance, not just theory.
How To Apply This:
These are excellent questions for your own practice: What would liberation look like in daily life? How would a free person act? What practice leads there? Keep these questions alive.
Key Sanskrit Terms: