Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 96
॥
Devanāgarī
तामसी राजसी सात्त्विकी मानुषी
Transliteration (IAST)
tāmasī rājasī sāttvikī mānuṣī
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तामसीtāmasīdark; tamasic
राजसीrājasīpassionate; rajasic
सात्त्विकीsāttvikīlight; sattvic
मानुषीmānuṣīhuman; belonging to men
Translation
Dark, passionate, light — and human.
Version
0654ca47f3bc · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:34:47 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A brief list: the three guṇas and man. The first three names describe how the power manifests in creatures according to their nature; the fourth stands apart.
Man is named separately from the three guṇas — and this is remarkable. In other beings the predominance of one strand determines everything; man has his own, fourth possibility, not reducible to the arrangement of qualities.
This thought is repeated constantly in the śāstras: human birth is valued because in it there is choice. The gods enjoy the fruits, animals live by their nature, and only man is given the power to change his condition.
Note that the previous mantra already named "Mānavī", the form abiding in men. Here the same is said in a row with the guṇas, to show how the human differs from them.
The next mantra will name that in which the Lord abides — and it will be neither a guṇa nor a class of being.