Chapter 14 · 27 verses

Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga: The Three Gunas

अध्याय 14 — गुणत्रयविभागयोग

The three qualities of nature — sattva, rajas and tamas — how they bind us, and the signs of one who rises above them.

प्रकृति के तीन गुण — सत्त्व, रज और तम — ये हमें कैसे बाँधते हैं, और उनसे ऊपर उठे मनुष्य के लक्षण।

1. Verse 14.1परं भूयः प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञानानां ज्ञानमुत्तमम् …Krishna tells Arjuna he will once more share the highest of all knowledge, the understanding through which sages in the past reached the ultimate fulfilment beyond this world.
2. Verse 14.2इदं ज्ञानमुपाश्रित्य मम साधर्म्यमागताः …Those who take shelter in this knowledge come to share God's own nature. They are not forced into birth when a new creation begins, and they are not shaken when the universe dissolves.
3. Verse 14.3मम योनिर्महद्ब्रह्म तस्मिन् गर्भं दधाम्यहम् …Krishna explains that vast material nature is like a womb for him. He places the seed of life in it, and from that union every living being comes into existence.
4. Verse 14.4सर्वयोनिषु कौन्तेय मूर्तयः सम्भवन्ति याः …Whatever bodies appear in any species, Krishna says, material nature is their great mother and he is the father who gives the seed. All life shares one source.
5. Verse 14.5सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसंभवाः …Nature is made of three qualities, called gunas: sattva (goodness and clarity), rajas (passion and restlessness) and tamas (dullness and inertia). These three tie the eternal soul to the body.
6. Verse 14.6तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम् …Sattva is pure, bright and free from trouble, so it brings clarity and health. Yet even sattva binds a person, through attachment to feeling happy and to being knowledgeable.
7. Verse 14.7रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् …Rajas is the quality of passion, born from craving and attachment. It binds a person by keeping them hooked on activity and the results of their work.
8. Verse 14.8तमस्त्वज्ञानजं विद्धि मोहनं सर्वदेहिनाम् …Tamas is born of ignorance and confuses everyone who has a body. It binds a person through carelessness, laziness and too much sleep.
9. Verse 14.9सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रजः कर्मणि भारत …Sattva attaches a person to happiness, rajas attaches them to action, and tamas covers up understanding and attaches them to carelessness.
10. Verse 14.10रजस्तमश्चाभिभूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत …The three qualities are always competing. Sometimes sattva rises by overpowering rajas and tamas; at other times rajas or tamas takes over. That is why our moods and behaviour keep changing.
11. Verse 14.11सर्वद्वारेषु देहेऽस्मिन्प्रकाश उपजायते …When clear understanding shines through all the senses and the mind, you can know that sattva has grown strong.
12. Verse 14.12लोभः प्रवृत्तिरारम्भः कर्मणामशमः स्पृहा …When rajas increases, you see greed, constant busyness, starting one project after another, restlessness and strong cravings.
13. Verse 14.13अप्रकाशोऽप्रवृत्तिश्च प्रमादो मोह एव च …When tamas increases, there is mental darkness, lack of motivation, carelessness and confusion.
14. Verse 14.14यदा सत्त्वे प्रवृद्धे तु प्रलयं याति देहभृत् …If a person dies while sattva is strong in them, they reach the pure worlds of those who know the highest truth.
15. Verse 14.15रजसि प्रलयं गत्वा कर्मसङ्गिषु जायते …One who dies while rajas dominates is reborn among people attached to action. One who dies in tamas is born in a dull, unaware state of life.
16. Verse 14.16कर्मणः सुकृतस्याहुः सात्त्विकं निर्मलं फलम् …The wise say good actions done in sattva bring pure results. Actions driven by rajas end in pain, and actions in tamas lead to ignorance.
17. Verse 14.17सत्त्वात्सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च …From sattva comes wisdom, from rajas comes greed, and from tamas come carelessness, confusion and ignorance.
18. Verse 14.18ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः …Those established in sattva rise upward, those in rajas stay in the middle, and those caught in the lowest quality, tamas, sink downward.
19. Verse 14.19नान्यं गुणेभ्यः कर्तारं यदा द्रष्टानुपश्यति …When a person sees clearly that only the three qualities of nature are doing all actions, and knows what lies beyond these qualities, they come to Krishna's own state.
20. Verse 14.20गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान् …When the soul rises beyond these three qualities that shape the body, it is freed from the pain of birth, death and old age and tastes immortality.
21. Verse 14.21कैर्लिंगैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो …Arjuna asks: Lord, what are the signs of someone who has gone beyond the three qualities? How do they behave, and how do they rise above them?
22. Verse 14.22प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव …Krishna answers: such a person does not resent clarity, activity or confusion when they arise, and does not long for them when they fade away.
23. Verse 14.23उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते …They stay like a calm onlooker, not disturbed by the qualities. Knowing that it is only the gunas at work, they remain steady and do not waver.
24. Verse 14.24समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः …They treat pleasure and pain alike and rest in their true self. A lump of earth, a stone and gold look the same to them. They stay steady whether things are pleasant or unpleasant, and whether they are blamed or praised.
25. Verse 14.25मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः …Someone who stays the same in honour and insult, treats friend and enemy alike, and has let go of selfish ambition in all their undertakings is said to have gone beyond the three qualities.
26. Verse 14.26मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्ितयोगेन सेवते …Whoever serves Krishna with steady, undivided devotion rises above these three qualities and becomes fit to realise the Absolute.
27. Verse 14.27ब्रह्मणो हि प्रतिष्ठाऽहममृतस्याव्ययस्य च …Krishna says he is the foundation of the Absolute, of immortal and unchanging life, of eternal dharma and of perfect, lasting happiness.