न तदस्ति पृथिव्यां वा दिवि देवेषु वा पुनः ।सत्त्वं प्रकृतिजैर्मुक्तं यदेभिः स्यात्त्रिभिर्गुणैः ॥
na tadasti pṛthivyāṃ vā divi deveṣu vā punaḥ |sattvaṃ prakṛtijairmuktaṃ yadebhiḥ syāttribhirguṇaiḥ ||
There is no being on earth, or again among the gods in heaven, that is free from these three gunas born of nature.
Explanation
Krishna has been describing three kinds of happiness, and now widens the point: every being, human or divine, is shaped by the three qualities (guṇa) of nature, namely clarity (sattva), passion (rajas) and inertia (tamas). The word sattva in this verse means 'being' or 'creature', not the guṇa of the same name. This sets up the next verse, where duties are divided according to these qualities.