Sārathi

Concepts

गुण guṇa

The three qualities of nature. Appears in 29 verses.

Where it appears

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Often found with

कर्म karmaप्रकृति prakṛtiपुरुष puruṣaसत्त्व sattvaआत्मन् ātmanधर्म dharma

Verses

  1. 3.5न हि कश्िचत्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत्।na hi kaśhchit kṣhaṇam api jātu tiṣhṭhatyakarma-kṛitVerily, no one can remain for even a moment without performing action; for everyone is made to act helplessly, indeed, by the qualities born of Nature.
  2. 3.27प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः।prakṛiteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśhaḥAll actions are wrought in all cases by the qualities of Nature alone. He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks, "I am the doer."
  3. 3.28तत्त्ववित्तु महाबाहो गुणकर्मविभागयोः।tattva-vit tu mahā-bāho guṇa-karma-vibhāgayoḥBut he who knows the Truth, O mighty-armed Arjuna, about the divisions of the qualities and their functions, knowing that the Gunas, as senses, move amidst the Gunas, as…
  4. 3.29प्रकृतेर्गुणसम्मूढाः सज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु।prakṛiter guṇa-sammūḍhāḥ sajjante guṇa-karmasuThose deluded by the qualities of Nature are attached to the functions of the qualities. The man of perfect knowledge should not unsettle the foolish one who is of…
  5. 3.35श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्।śhreyān swa-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣhṭhitātBetter is one's own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty of another well discharged. Better is death in one's own duty; the duty of another is fraught with fear.
  6. 3.37काम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भवः।kāma eṣha krodha eṣha rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥThe Blessed Lord said, "It is desire and it is anger, both of the quality of Rajas, all-devouring and all-sinful; know this as the foe here in this world."
  7. 4.13चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः।chātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛiṣhṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśhaḥThe fourfold caste has been created by Me according to the differentiation of Guna and Karma; though I am the author of it, know Me as non-doer and immutable.
  8. 7.13त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत्।tribhir guṇa-mayair bhāvair ebhiḥ sarvam idaṁ jagatDeluded by these Natures, composed of the three qualities of Nature, all this world does not know Me as distinct from them and immutable.
  9. 7.14दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया।daivī hyeṣhā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayāVerily, this divine illusion of Mine, composed of the three qualities, is difficult to cross over; those who take refuge in Me alone, can cross over this illusion.
  10. 13.15सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम्।sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṁ sarvendriya-vivarjitamShining by the functions of all the senses, yet without being attached to them; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities, yet the experiencer of them.
  11. 13.20प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि।prakṛitiṁ puruṣhaṁ chaiva viddhy anādī ubhāv apiKnow that Nature (matter) and the Spirit are both beginningless, and know also that all modifications and qualities are born from Nature.
  12. 13.22पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान्गुणान्।puruṣhaḥ prakṛiti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛiti-jān guṇānThe soul seated in Nature experiences the qualities born of Nature; attachment to the qualities is the cause of its birth in good and evil wombs.
  13. 13.24य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैःसह।ya evaṁ vetti puruṣhaṁ prakṛitiṁ cha guṇaiḥ sahaHe who thus knows the Spirit and Matter together with their qualities, in whatever condition he may be, he is not reborn.
  14. 13.32अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्ययः।anāditvān nirguṇatvāt paramātmāyam avyayaḥBeing without beginning, devoid of any qualities, the Supreme Self, imperishable, though dwelling in the body, O Arjuna, neither acts nor is tainted.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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?"
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. 15.2अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः।adhaśh chordhvaṁ prasṛitās tasya śhākhāIts branches spread below and above, nourished by the Gunas; its buds are sense-objects, and its roots stretch forth below in the world of men, originating action.
  24. 15.10उत्क्रामन्तं स्थितं वापि भुञ्जानं वा गुणान्वितम्।utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitamThe deluded do not see Him who departs, stays, and enjoys; but those who possess the eye of knowledge behold Him.
  25. 18.19ज्ञानं कर्म च कर्ता च त्रिधैव गुणभेदतः।jñānaṁ karma cha kartā cha tridhaiva guṇa-bhedataḥKnowledge, action, and actor are declared in the science of the Gunas (Sankhya philosophy) to be of three kinds only, according to the distinction of the Gunas. Of…
  26. 18.29बुद्धेर्भेदं धृतेश्चैव गुणतस्त्रिविधं श्रृणु।buddher bhedaṁ dhṛiteśh chaiva guṇatas tri-vidhaṁ śhṛiṇuHear thou the threefold division of intellect and firmness, according to the Gunas, as I declare them fully and distinctly, O Arjuna.
  27. 18.40न तदस्ति पृथिव्यां वा दिवि देवेषु वा पुनः।na tad asti pṛithivyāṁ vā divi deveṣhu vā punaḥThere is no being on earth or in heaven among the gods that is liberated from the three qualities born of Nature.
  28. 18.41ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परंतप।brāhmaṇa-kṣhatriya-viśhāṁ śhūdrāṇāṁ cha parantapaOf Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras, O Arjuna, the duties are distributed according to the qualities born of their own nature.
  29. 18.47श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात्।śhreyān swa-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣhṭhitātBetter is one's own duty, even if it is destitute of merits, than the duty of another well performed. He who does the duty ordained by his own nature incurs no sin.