Sārathi

Chapter 14 of 18

गुणत्रयविभागयोग Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga

Yoga through Understanding the Three Modes of Material Nature. 27 verses.

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About this chapter

The fourteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is "Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga". In this chapter, Krishna reveals the three gunas (modes) of the material nature - goodness, passion and ignorance which everything in the material existence is influenced by. He further explains the essential characteristics of each of these modes, their cause and how they influence a living entity affected by them. He then reveals the various characteristics of the persons who have gone beyond these gunas. The chapter ends with Krishna reminding us of the power of pure devotion to God and how attachment to God can help us transcend these gunas.

  1. 14.1श्री भगवानुवाचपरं भूयः प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञानानां ज्ञानमुत्तमम्।śhrī-bhagavān uvāchaThe Blessed Lord said, "I will again declare to thee that supreme knowledge, the best of all knowledge, having known which all the sages have gone to supreme perfection…
  2. 14.2इदं ज्ञानमुपाश्रित्य मम साधर्म्यमागताः।idaṁ jñānam upāśhritya mama sādharmyam āgatāḥThose who, having taken refuge in this knowledge, have attained unity with Me, are neither born at the time of creation nor disturbed at the time of dissolution.
  3. 14.3मम योनिर्महद्ब्रह्म तस्मिन् गर्भं दधाम्यहम्।mama yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbhaṁ dadhāmy ahamMy womb is the great Brahma; in it I place the germ; thence, O Arjuna, is the birth of all beings.
  4. 14.4सर्वयोनिषु कौन्तेय मूर्तयः सम्भवन्ति याः।sarva-yoniṣhu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥWhatever forms are produced, O Arjuna, in any womb whatsoever, the great Brahma is their womb, and I am the seed-giving father.
  5. 14.5सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसंभवाः।sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇāḥ prakṛiti-sambhavāḥThese qualities, O Arjuna, born of Nature, bind fast in the body of the embodied, the indestructible: purity, passion, and inertia.
  6. 14.6तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम्।tatra sattvaṁ nirmalatvāt prakāśhakam anāmayamOf these, sattva, which is luminous and healthy due to its stainlessness, binds one by attachment to happiness and knowledge, O sinless one.
  7. 14.7रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम्।rajo rāgātmakaṁ viddhi tṛiṣhṇā-saṅga-samudbhavamKnow, O Arjuna, that Rajas is of the nature of passion, the source of thirst and attachment; it binds fast the embodied one by attachment to action.
  8. 14.8तमस्त्वज्ञानजं विद्धि मोहनं सर्वदेहिनाम्।tamas tv ajñāna-jaṁ viddhi mohanaṁ sarva-dehināmBut know thou Tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all embodied beings; it binds fast, O Arjuna, through heedlessness, indolence, and sleep.
  9. 14.9सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रजः कर्मणि भारत।sattvaṁ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārataSattva attaches to happiness, Rajas to action, O Arjuna, while Tamas, verily shrouding knowledge, attaches to heedlessness.
  10. 14.10रजस्तमश्चाभिभूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत।rajas tamaśh chābhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārataNow, O Arjuna, Sattva prevails, having overpowered Rajas and Tamas; then Rajas, having overpowered Sattva and Tamas; and then Tamas, having overpowered Sattva and Rajas.
  11. 14.11सर्वद्वारेषु देहेऽस्मिन्प्रकाश उपजायते।sarva-dvāreṣhu dehe ’smin prakāśha upajāyateWhen the wisdom-light shines through every gate of this body, then it may be known that Sattva is predominant.
  12. 14.12लोभः प्रवृत्तिरारम्भः कर्मणामशमः स्पृहा।lobhaḥ pravṛittir ārambhaḥ karmaṇām aśhamaḥ spṛihāGreed, activity, the undertaking of actions, restlessness, and longing—these arise when Rajas is predominant, O Arjuna.
  13. 14.13अप्रकाशोऽप्रवृत्तिश्च प्रमादो मोह एव च।aprakāśho ’pravṛittiśh cha pramādo moha eva chaDarkness, inertia, carelessness, and delusion—these arise when Tamas is predominant, O Arjuna.
  14. 14.14यदा सत्त्वे प्रवृद्धे तु प्रलयं याति देहभृत्।yadā sattve pravṛiddhe tu pralayaṁ yāti deha-bhṛitIf the embodied one meets death when Sattva is predominant, then they attain the spotless worlds of the knowers of the Highest.
  15. 14.15रजसि प्रलयं गत्वा कर्मसङ्गिषु जायते।rajasi pralayaṁ gatvā karma-saṅgiṣhu jāyateMeeting death in Rajas, he is born among those who are attached to action; and dying in Tamas, he is born in the womb of the thoughtless.
  16. 14.16कर्मणः सुकृतस्याहुः सात्त्विकं निर्मलं फलम्।karmaṇaḥ sukṛitasyāhuḥ sāttvikaṁ nirmalaṁ phalamThey say that the fruit of good action is Sattvic and pure; indeed, the fruit of Rajas is pain, and the fruit of Tamas is ignorance.
  17. 14.17सत्त्वात्सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च।sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṁ rajaso lobha eva chaFrom Sattva arises knowledge, and greed from Rajas; heedlessness and delusion arise from Tamas, and also ignorance.
  18. 14.18ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः।ūrdhvaṁ gachchhanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣhṭhanti rājasāḥThose seated in Sattva ascend; those of Rajasic nature dwell in the middle; and those of Tamasic nature, abiding in the function of the lowest Guna, descend.
  19. 14.19नान्यं गुणेभ्यः कर्तारं यदा द्रष्टानुपश्यति।nānyaṁ guṇebhyaḥ kartāraṁ yadā draṣhṭānupaśhyatiWhen the seer beholds no agent other than the Gunas and knows that which is higher than them, he attains to My Being.
  20. 14.20गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान्।guṇān etān atītya trīn dehī deha-samudbhavānThe embodied one, having crossed beyond these three Gunas from which the body is evolved, is freed from birth, death, decay, and pain, and attains immortality.
  21. 14.21अर्जुन उवाचकैर्लिंगैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो।arjuna uvāchaArjuna said, "What are the marks of one who has transcended the three qualities, O Lord? What is their conduct, and how do they go beyond these three qualities?"
  22. 14.22श्री भगवानुवाचप्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव।śhrī-bhagavān uvāchaThe Blessed Lord said, "When light, activity, and delusion are present, he does not hate them, nor does he long for them when they are absent.
  23. 14.23उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते।udāsīna-vad āsīno guṇair yo na vichālyateHe who, seated like one unconcerned, is not moved by the dualities, and who, knowing that the dualities are active, is self-centered and does not move.
  24. 14.24समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः।sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ sva-sthaḥ sama-loṣhṭāśhma-kāñchanaḥWho is the same in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth, a stone, and gold are all alike, who is the same to the dear and the unfriendly…
  25. 14.25मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः।mānāpamānayos tulyas tulyo mitrāri-pakṣhayoḥWho is the same in honor and dishonor, the same to friend and foe, abandoning all undertakings, he is said to have transcended the dualities.
  26. 14.26मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्ितयोगेन सेवते।māṁ cha yo ’vyabhichāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevateAnd he who serves Me with unwavering devotion, he, crossing beyond the dualities, is fit for becoming Brahman.
  27. 14.27ब्रह्मणो हि प्रतिष्ठाऽहममृतस्याव्ययस्य च।brahmaṇo hi pratiṣhṭhāham amṛitasyāvyayasya chaFor I am the abode of Brahman, the immortal, immutable, and everlasting Dharma, and absolute bliss.