Chapter III · Śloka 27
प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः ।
अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥
अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ |
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate ||
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate ||
All actions are in every way performed by the qualities of nature; one whose self is deluded by ego thinks, 'I am the doer.'
In reality it is the three guṇas of prakṛti — sattva, rajas, and tamas — that drive all activity; the ātman is ever the witness, not the agent. The deluded ego-sense superimposes doership onto the witnessing Self, which is the root of bondage.