Sanskrit
त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत् । मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्यः परमव्ययम् ॥ १३ ॥
tribhir guṇamayair bhāvair ebhiḥ sarvam idaṃ jagat mohitaṃ nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam
Translation
All this world, deluded by these natures made by the three qualities, knoweth not Me, above these, imperishable.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
This is the delusion mechanism verse 12 makes possible: because the three gunas are what everyone directly experiences, and because they obscure rather than reveal their source, “this world” collectively fails to recognize the imperishable reality standing behind its own conditioning. Verse 14 names this obscuring power directly.