Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 9

Chapter 14 – Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रजः कर्मणि भारत ।
ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तमः प्रमादे सञ्जयत्युत ॥

Transliteration

sattvaṃ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata .
jñānamāvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayatyuta ॥

Meaning

Sattva attaches one to happiness, rajas to action, O Bharata; but tamas, veiling knowledge, attaches one to heedlessness.

Word meanings

सत्त्वम् – sattva
सुखे – to happiness
सञ्जयति – attaches, binds
रजः – rajas
कर्मणि – to action
भारत – O Bharata
ज्ञानम् – knowledge, discernment
आवृत्य – veiling, covering
तु – but
तमः – tamas
प्रमादे – to heedlessness
सञ्जयति – attaches
उत – indeed

Anvaya (word order)

भारत, सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति, रजः कर्मणि (सञ्जयति), तमः तु ज्ञानम् आवृत्य प्रमादे सञ्जयति उत ।

Explanation

In this verse Krishna gathers the detailed descriptions of the last four verses into a single formula. It is the simplest and most practical test for recognising the gunas: each one makes the soul cling (sanjayati) to something particular.

'Sattva attaches to happiness.' In a sattvic state the mind is calm, content and bright, and the soul begins to savour that quiet joy. The joy is pure, but attachment to it is still attachment. A seeker so absorbed in the sweetness of meditation that service and duty begin to feel like interruptions is caught in the bond of sattva.

'Rajas attaches to action.' The rajasic person is intoxicated with doing. His identity becomes bound up with work, achievements and busyness. Sitting still feels unbearable, and he moves from one project to the next in hope of results.

'But tamas, veiling knowledge, attaches to heedlessness.' The word 'but' matters. Sattva and rajas attach us to something positive, happiness or action, whereas tamas first covers the light of discernment, as clouds cover the sun, and then pushes a person into carelessness and neglect of duty. Shankara explains pramada here as failing to do the duty that is actually at hand.

The verse can be used as a mirror. Several times a day we can ask: what am I clinging to right now? Peace and comfort? Work and achievement? Or sloth and indifference? This simple self-observation is the beginning of rising above the gunas.

All three states visit the same person at different times. No one is purely sattvic, rajasic or tamasic; the predominance keeps changing, as the next verse explains.

Context

Verses 6 to 8 described sattva, rajas and tamas individually; this verse gives a concise summary of their effects. The next verse explains how the gunas take turns in prevailing by overpowering one another.

Life lesson

Pause a few times each day and ask what you are clinging to: comfort, activity or heedlessness. Recognising your present state is the first condition for changing it.

Key terms

Sanjayati: Attaches, makes one cling
Avritya: Veiling, as clouds cover the sun
Pramada: Neglect of the duty at hand