Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 45

त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन । निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान्

traiguṇyaviṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna | nirdvandvo nityasattvastho niryogakṣema ātmavān

Translation

The Vedas treat of the triad of the guṇas. Be, O Arjuna, free from the triad of the guṇas, free from pairs, free from acquisition and preservation, ever remaining in the Sattva (Goodness), and self-possessed.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

traiguṇyaviṣayāḥ

the three attributes, subject-matter, whose, they

vedāḥ

(the) Vedas

nistraiguṇyaḥ

without the three attributes

bhava

be

arjuna

O Arjuna

nirdvandvaḥ

without the pairs (of opposites)

nityasattvasthaḥ

constantly, in sattva, (who) dwells, thus

niryogakṣemaḥ

not, is, earning, and, maintaining, and, whose, he

ātmavān

full of the Self

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

The portion of the Vedas which deals with worldly acts concerns the three guṇas — sattva, rajas, and tamas — and their effects in saṃsāra. Be thou free from these three (nistraiguṇya); free from the pairs of opposites (nirdvandva) born of attachment and aversion; free from the anxious effort to acquire what one has not (yoga) and to preserve what one has (kṣema); ever in Sattva, in the firmness of right knowledge, possessed of thy own Self (ātmavān), heedful. The verse turns Arjuna from ritual fruits to the inward calm that prepares the ground for Self-knowledge.