← Chapter 14: The Yoga of the Division of the Three Gunas

Verse 14.9

Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit

सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रजः कर्मणि भारत | ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तमः प्रमादे सञ्जयत्युत ||९||

Transliteration (IAST)

sattvaṁ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata | jñānam āvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayaty uta ||9||

Word-by-Word Meanings

sattvam-goodness

sukhe-to happiness

sañjayati-attaches

rajaḥ-passion

karmaṇi-to action

jñānam-knowledge

āvṛtya-covering/veiling

pramāde-to heedlessness

Translation

Sattva attaches one to happiness, Rajas to action, O Bharata; while Tamas, veiling knowledge, attaches one to heedlessness.

Commentary

This verse summarizes the binding mechanism of each guna. Shankaracharya notes the progressive degradation: Sattva binds to something relatively good (happiness), Rajas to restless activity, and Tamas to complete negligence. Ramanuja explains that each guna overpowers the other two when it predominates, creating different states of consciousness.

Themes

jnanakarma