Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17, Verse 2

Chapter 17 – Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा ।
सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चेति तां शृणु ॥

Transliteration

śrībhagavānuvāca .
trividhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṃ sā svabhāvajā .
sāttvikī rājasī caiva tāmasī ceti tāṃ śṛṇu ॥

Meaning

The Blessed Lord said: The faith of embodied beings, born of their own nature, is of three kinds: sattvic, rajasic and tamasic. Hear about it from Me.

Word meanings

श्रीभगवान् उवाच – the Blessed Lord said
त्रिविधा – threefold
भवति – is
श्रद्धा – faith
देहिनाम् – of embodied beings
सा – that
स्वभावजा – born of one's own nature
सात्त्विकी – sattvic
राजसी – rajasic
च एव – and
तामसी – tamasic
च – and
इति – thus
ताम् – of it
शृणु – hear

Anvaya (word order)

श्रीभगवान् उवाच — देहिनां सा स्वभावजा श्रद्धा त्रिविधा भवति — सात्त्विकी राजसी च एव तामसी च इति; तां शृणु ।

Explanation

Krishna does not answer Arjuna simply with 'sattvic' or 'tamasic'. He begins from a basic principle: faith itself is of three kinds. So the standing of those who worship with faith but without scriptural guidance depends on the kind of faith they have.

Svabhavaja: this faith is 'born of one's nature'. Shankara explains that svabhava here means the impressions of merit and demerit from past lives, which accompany the soul at death and show themselves in the new birth. The distinction is important: faith born of scripture rests on knowledge, whereas faith born of nature rests on tendencies.

It follows that one whose tendencies are sattvic will naturally place faith in sattvic things; one whose tendencies are rajasic, in rajasic things; and one whose tendencies are tamasic, in tamasic things. Faith in itself is neither good nor bad; its quality makes it so.

Tam shrinu, 'hear about it'. With these words the rest of the chapter opens. Besides faith, Krishna will describe three kinds each of food, sacrifice, austerity and charity, so that we can see which guna is guiding us in every area of life.

Context

In the previous verse Arjuna asked about the standing of those who have faith but no scriptural guidance; here Krishna begins His answer by saying that faith itself is threefold. In the next verse He says that a person is made of faith.

Life lesson

Our beliefs are shaped by our past tendencies, so they should be examined with discernment rather than accepted blindly. As we cultivate good tendencies, our faith naturally turns in a higher direction.

Key terms

Svabhavaja shraddha: Faith born of one's nature, shaped by past impressions
Trividha: Threefold — sattvic, rajasic and tamasic