रजस् तमश् चाभिभूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत ॥
रजः सत्त्वं तमश् चैव तमः सत्त्वं रजस् तथा ॥
सर्वद्वारेषु देहे ऽस्मिन् प्रकाश उपजायते ॥
ज्ञानं यदा तदा विद्याद् विवृद्धं सत्त्वम् इत्य् उत ॥
लोभः प्रवृत्तिर् आरम्भः कर्मणाम् अशमः स्पृहा ॥
रजस्य् एतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे भरतर्षभ ॥
अप्रकाशो ऽप्रवृत्तिश् च प्रमादो मोह एव च ॥
तमस्य् एतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे कुरुनन्दन ॥
यदा सत्त्वे प्रवृद्धे तु प्रलयं याति देहभृत् ॥
तदोत्तमविदां लोकान् अमलान् प्रतिपद्यते ॥
रजसि प्रलयं गत्वा कर्मसङ्गिषु जायते ॥
तथा प्रलीनस् तमसि मूढयोनिषु जायते ॥
कर्मणः सुकृतस्याहुः सात्त्विकं निर्मलं फलम् ॥
रजसस् तु फलं दुःखम् अज्ञानं तमसः फलम् ॥
सत्त्वात् संजायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च ॥
प्रमादमोहौ तमसो भवतो ऽज्ञानम् एव च ॥
ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः ॥
जघन्यगुणवृत्तस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसाः ॥
rajas tamaś cābhibhūya sattvaṃ bhavati bhārata ||
rajaḥ sattvaṃ tamaś caiva tamaḥ sattvaṃ rajas tathā ||
sarvadvāreṣu dehe 'smin prakāśa upajāyate ||
jñānaṃ yadā tadā vidyād vivṛddhaṃ sattvam ity uta ||
lobhaḥ pravṛttir ārambhaḥ karmaṇām aśamaḥ spṛhā ||
rajasy etāni jāyante vivṛddhe bharatarṣabha ||
aprakāśo 'pravṛttiś ca pramādo moha eva ca ||
tamasy etāni jāyante vivṛddhe kurunandana ||
yadā sattve pravṛddhe tu pralayaṃ yāti dehabhṛt ||
tadottamavidāṃ lokān amalān pratipadyate ||
rajasi pralayaṃ gatvā karmasaṅgiṣu jāyate ||
tathā pralīnas tamasi mūḍhayoniṣu jāyate ||
karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyāhuḥ sāttvikaṃ nirmalaṃ phalam ||
rajasas tu phalaṃ duḥkham ajñānaṃ tamasaḥ phalam ||
sattvāt saṃjāyate jñānaṃ rajaso lobha eva ca ||
pramādamohau tamaso bhavato 'jñānam eva ca ||
ūrdhvaṃ gacchanti sattvasthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ ||
jaghanyaguṇavṛttasthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ ||
"When sattva overpowers rajas and tamas, it prevails, O Bharata; when rajas overpowers sattva and tamas, rajas prevails; and likewise tamas overpowers sattva and rajas. When light arises at all the gates of this body, know that sattva has grown strong. Greed, restless activity, the undertaking of deeds, unrest, and longing arise when rajas has increased, O best of the Bharatas. Darkness, inaction, negligence, and delusion arise when tamas has increased, O joy of the Kurus. If the embodied soul dies while sattva has increased, he attains the pure worlds of those who know the highest. Dying in rajas, he is born among those attached to action; one who has passed away in tamas is born in deluded wombs. The fruit of a good deed, they say, is pure and sattvic; the fruit of rajas is suffering, and the fruit of tamas is ignorance. From sattva knowledge is born, from rajas greed, and from tamas arise negligence, delusion, and ignorance. Those established in sattva go upward, the rajasic remain in the middle, and the tamasic, abiding in the lowest guna, go downward."
0c850fff0fa5 · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:02:20 PM UTC
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Krishna describes the gunas as dynamic forces: they displace one another and color perception, action, death, and the next birth. Knowing their signs helps one not to justify one's state but to see that it is not the true self.