Brahma Explains the Three Qualities

Verse 1 (14.40.1)

नैव शक्या गुणा वक्तुं पृथक्त्वेनैव सर्वशः । अविच्छिन्नानि दृश्यन्ते रजः सत्वं तमस्तथा ॥

naiva śakyā guṇā vaktuṃ pṛthaktvenaiva sarvaśaḥ | avicchinnāni dṛśyante rajaḥ satvaṃ tamastathā

The qualities cannot be described one by one, each taken apart in every respect. Rajas, sattva and tamas are seen as unbroken, never separate.

Verse 2 (14.40.2)

अन्योन्यमनुरज्यन्ते ह्यन्योन्येनानुजीविनः । अन्योन्यापाश्रयाः सर्वे तथाऽन्योन्यानुवर्तिनः ॥

anyonyamanurajyante hyanyonyenānujīvinaḥ | anyonyāpāśrayāḥ sarve tathā'nyonyānuvartinaḥ

They cling to one another and live in dependence on one another. All of them rest on one another and follow one another.

Verse 3 (14.40.3)

यावत्सत्वं रजस्तावद्वर्तते नात्र संशयः । यावत्तमश्च सत्वं च रजस्तावदिहोच्यते ॥

yāvatsatvaṃ rajastāvadvartate nātra saṃśayaḥ | yāvattamaśca satvaṃ ca rajastāvadihocyate

As far as sattva extends, rajas extends as far; of this there is no doubt. And as far as tamas and sattva extend, so far, it is said, rajas extends here as well.

Verse 4 (14.40.4)

संहत्य कुर्वते यात्रां सहिताः सङ्घचारिणः । सङ्घातवृत्तयो ह्येते वर्तन्ते हेत्वहेतुभिः ॥

saṃhatya kurvate yātrāṃ sahitāḥ saṅghacāriṇaḥ | saṅghātavṛttayo hyete vartante hetvahetubhiḥ

Joining together they make their way, moving as a company. Their way of life is to act in combination, and they operate both with causes and without causes.

Verse 5 (14.40.5)

उद्रेकव्यतिरिक्तानां तेषामन्योन्यवर्तिनाम् । वक्ष्यते तद्यथाऽन्यूनं व्यतिरिक्तं च सर्वशः ॥

udrekavyatiriktānāṃ teṣāmanyonyavartinām | vakṣyate tadyathā'nyūnaṃ vyatiriktaṃ ca sarvaśaḥ

Of these three, which depend on one another and differ in predominance and surplus, I shall tell how, in every case, one is without lack and another stands in excess.

Verse 6 (14.40.6)

व्यतिरिक्तं तमो यत्र तिर्यग्भावगतं भवेत् । अल्पं तत्र रजो ज्ञेयं सत्वमल्पतरं तथा ॥

vyatiriktaṃ tamo yatra tiryagbhāvagataṃ bhavet | alpaṃ tatra rajo jñeyaṃ satvamalpataraṃ tathā

Where tamas is in excess and has taken the form of the animal order, there rajas is to be known as slight, and sattva slighter still.

Note on the text: Corrected तत्रथ → तत्र (misprint in Wikisource; stray akshara, the critical edition reads tatra).

Verse 7 (14.40.7)

उद्रिक्तं च रजो यत्र मध्यस्रोतोगतं भवेत् । अल्पं तत्र तमो ज्ञेयं सत्वमल्पतरं तथा ॥

udriktaṃ ca rajo yatra madhyasrotogataṃ bhavet | alpaṃ tatra tamo jñeyaṃ satvamalpataraṃ tathā

Where rajas is predominant and goes in the middle stream, there tamas is to be known as slight, and sattva slighter still.

Verse 8 (14.40.8)

उद्रिक्तं च यदा सत्वमूर्ध्वस्रोतोगतं भवेत् । अल्पं तत्र तमो ज्ञेयं रजश्चाल्पतरं तथा ॥

udriktaṃ ca yadā satvamūrdhvasrotogataṃ bhavet | alpaṃ tatra tamo jñeyaṃ rajaścālpataraṃ tathā

And when sattva is predominant and goes in the upward stream, there tamas is to be known as slight, and rajas slighter still.

Verse 9 (14.40.9)

सत्वं वैकारिकी योनिरिन्द्रियाणां प्रकाशिका । न हि सत्वात्परो भावः कश्चिदन्यो विधीयते ॥

satvaṃ vaikārikī yonirindriyāṇāṃ prakāśikā | na hi satvātparo bhāvaḥ kaścidanyo vidhīyate

Sattva is the source of the modified (vaikarika) and the illuminator of the senses. No state other than sattva is ordained as higher.

Verse 10 (14.40.10)

ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः । जघन्यगुणसंयुक्ता यान्त्यधस्तामसा जनाः ॥

ūrdhvaṃ gacchanti satvasthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ | jaghanyaguṇasaṃyuktā yāntyadhastāmasā janāḥ

Those established in sattva go upward; the rajasic stay in the middle; the tamasic, joined with the lowest quality, go downward.

Verse 11 (14.40.11)

तमः शूद्रे रजः क्षत्रे ब्राह्मणे सत्वमुत्तमम् । इत्येवं त्रिषु वर्णेषु विवर्तन्ते गुणास्त्रयः ॥

tamaḥ śūdre rajaḥ kṣatre brāhmaṇe satvamuttamam | ityevaṃ triṣu varṇeṣu vivartante guṇāstrayaḥ

Tamas is in the Shudra, rajas in the Kshatriya, and sattva, the best, in the Brahmin. Thus the three qualities turn about among the three classes.

Verse 12 (14.40.12)

दूरादपि हि दृश्यन्ते सहिताः सङ्घचारिणः । तमः सत्वं रजश्चैव पृथक्त्वेनानुशुश्रुम ॥

dūrādapi hi dṛśyante sahitāḥ saṅghacāriṇaḥ | tamaḥ satvaṃ rajaścaiva pṛthaktvenānuśuśruma

Even from far off they are seen moving together in company; yet we have heard of tamas, sattva and rajas as being separate.

Note on the text: Corrected दृश्यनते → दृश्यन्ते (misprint in Wikisource; broken conjunct, the critical edition reads dṛśyante). The second line (पृथक्त्वेनानुशुश्रुम, 'we have heard of them as separate') differs in sense from the critical edition's pṛthaktvaṃ nānuśuśruma; recension variant, kept.

Verse 13 (14.40.13)

दृष्ट्वा त्वादित्यमुद्यन्तं कुचोराणां भयं भवेत् । अध्वगाः परितप्येयुरुष्णतो दुःखभागिनः ॥

dṛṣṭvā tvādityamudyantaṃ kucorāṇāṃ bhayaṃ bhavet | adhvagāḥ paritapyeyuruṣṇato duḥkhabhāginaḥ

At the sight of the rising sun, fear comes to bad thieves, and travellers are scorched, suffering from the heat.

Verse 14 (14.40.14)

आदित्यः सत्वमुद्दिष्टः कुचोरास्तु तथा तमः । परितापोऽध्वगानां च रजसो गुण उच्यते ॥

ādityaḥ satvamuddiṣṭaḥ kucorāstu tathā tamaḥ | paritāpo'dhvagānāṃ ca rajaso guṇa ucyate

The sun is declared to be sattva, the bad thieves tamas, and the scorching of the travellers is called the quality of rajas.

Verse 15 (14.40.15)

प्राकाश्यं सत्वमादित्यः संतापो रजसो गुणः । उपप्लवस्तु विज्ञेयस्तामसस्तस्य पर्वसु ॥

prākāśyaṃ satvamādityaḥ saṃtāpo rajaso guṇaḥ | upaplavastu vijñeyastāmasastasya parvasu

Brightness is sattva in the sun, heat is the quality of rajas, and the eclipse that befalls it at the junctures of the lunar month is to be known as tamasic.

Verse 16 (14.40.16)

एवं ज्योतिष्षु सर्वेषु प्रवर्तन्ते गुणास्त्रयः । पर्यायेण च वर्तन्ते तत्रतत्र तथातथा ॥

evaṃ jyotiṣṣu sarveṣu pravartante guṇāstrayaḥ | paryāyeṇa ca vartante tatratatra tathātathā

Thus the three qualities operate in all the luminaries, and they take their turns, in this place and that, in one way and another.

Note on the text: Corrected वर्न्तते → वर्तन्ते (misprint in Wikisource; letters transposed, the critical edition reads vartante).

Verse 17 (14.40.17)

स्थावरेषु तु भावेषु तिर्यग्भावगतं तमः । राजसास्तु विवर्तन्ते स्नेहभावस्तु सात्विकैः ॥

sthāvareṣu tu bhāveṣu tiryagbhāvagataṃ tamaḥ | rājasāstu vivartante snehabhāvastu sātvikaiḥ

Among stationary things, tamas takes the sideways (tiryak) state; the rajasic ones develop and change, while tenderness and moisture (sneha) belong to the sattvic.

Verse 18 (14.40.18)

अहस्त्रिधा तु विज्ञेयं त्रिधा रात्रिर्विधीयते । मासार्धमासवर्षाणि ऋतवः सन्धयस्तथा ॥

ahastridhā tu vijñeyaṃ tridhā rātrirvidhīyate | māsārdhamāsavarṣāṇi ṛtavaḥ sandhayastathā

The day is to be understood as threefold, and the night is ordained threefold; so too the months, the fortnights, the years, the seasons and the junctures.

Note on the text: Corrected मासार्दमास → मासार्धमास (misprint in Wikisource; द for ध, the critical edition reads māsārdhamāsa).

Verse 19 (14.40.19)

त्रिधा दानानि दीयन्ते त्रिधा यज्ञः प्रवर्तते । त्रिधा लोकास्त्रिधा देवास्त्रिधा विद्यास्त्रिधा गतिः ॥

tridhā dānāni dīyante tridhā yajñaḥ pravartate | tridhā lokāstridhā devāstridhā vidyāstridhā gatiḥ

Gifts are given in three ways, and sacrifice proceeds in three ways; the worlds are threefold, the gods threefold, the knowledges threefold, and the destination threefold.

Verse 20 (14.40.20)

भूतं भव्यं भविष्यं च धर्मोऽर्थः काम एव च । प्राणापानावुदानश्चाप्येत एव त्रयो गुणाः ॥

bhūtaṃ bhavyaṃ bhaviṣyaṃ ca dharmo'rthaḥ kāma eva ca | prāṇāpānāvudānaścāpyeta eva trayo guṇāḥ

The past, the present and the future; dharma, artha and kama; and the in-breath, the out-breath and the up-breath: these are the three qualities themselves.

Verse 21 (14.40.21)

पर्यायेण प्रवर्तन्ते तत्रतत्र तथातथा । यत्किञ्चिदिह लोकेऽस्मिन्सर्वमेते त्रयो गुणाः ॥

paryāyeṇa pravartante tatratatra tathātathā | yatkiñcidiha loke'sminsarvamete trayo guṇāḥ

They operate in turn, in this place and that, in one way and another. Whatever there is in this world, all of it is these three qualities.

Note on the text: The first line (पर्यायेण प्रवर्तन्ते तत्रतत्र तथातथा) repeats the second half of the preceding vulgate verse 16 and is not in the critical edition (vulgate only); the second line corresponds to CE 14.39.21a (Wikisource: लोकेऽस्मिन्सर्वमेते त्रयो गुणाः; CE: loke sarvam eṣv eva tat triṣu).

Verse 22 (14.40.22)

त्रयो गुणाः प्रवर्तन्ते ह्यव्यक्ता नित्यमेव तु । सत्वं रजस्तमश्चैव गुणसर्गः सनातनः ॥

trayo guṇāḥ pravartante hyavyaktā nityameva tu | satvaṃ rajastamaścaiva guṇasargaḥ sanātanaḥ

The three qualities ever operate, though unmanifest: sattva, rajas and tamas. This emanation of the qualities is eternal.

Note on the text: Both lines correspond to CE 14.39.21c and 21e (the second and third lines of the critical edition's three-line verse 21; its first line, 21a, stands in the preceding Wikisource verse).

Verse 23 (14.40.23)

तमोऽव्यक्तं शिवं धाम रजो योनिः सनातनः । प्रकृतिर्विकारः प्रलयः प्रधानं प्रभवाप्ययौ ॥

tamo'vyaktaṃ śivaṃ dhāma rajo yoniḥ sanātanaḥ | prakṛtirvikāraḥ pralayaḥ pradhānaṃ prabhavāpyayau

Tamas is the unmanifest, the auspicious abode, and rajas is the eternal source. They are also called prakriti, modification, dissolution, primal matter (pradhana), and origin and end.

Verse 24 (14.40.24)

अनुद्रिक्तमनूनं वाऽप्यकम्पमचलं ध्रुवम् । सदसच्चैव तत्सर्वमव्यक्तं त्रिगुणं स्मृतम् । ज्ञेयानि नामधेयानि नरैरध्यात्मचिन्तकैः ॥

anudriktamanūnaṃ vā'pyakampamacalaṃ dhruvam | sadasaccaiva tatsarvamavyaktaṃ triguṇaṃ smṛtam | jñeyāni nāmadheyāni narairadhyātmacintakaiḥ

Neither in excess nor lacking, unshaking, unmoving, fixed: being and non-being, all that is called the unmanifest of the three qualities. Its names should be known by men who contemplate the Self.

Note on the text: Corrected नरैरद्यात्मचिन्तकैः → नरैरध्यात्मचिन्तकैः (misprint in Wikisource; द for ध, the critical edition reads narair adhyātmacintakaiḥ).

Verse 25 (14.40.25)

अव्यक्तनामानि गुणांश्च तत्त्वतो । यो वेद सर्वाणि गतीश्च केवलाः । विमुक्तदेहः प्रविभागतत्त्ववित् । स मुच्यते सर्वगुणैर्निरामयः ॥

avyaktanāmāni guṇāṃśca tattvato | yo veda sarvāṇi gatīśca kevalāḥ | vimuktadehaḥ pravibhāgatattvavit | sa mucyate sarvaguṇairnirāmayaḥ

He who truly knows the names of the unmanifest and of the qualities, all of them, and the solitary courses; he, freed from the body and knowing in truth the distinctions, is released from all the qualities, free from every affliction.

Note on the text: The page prints the word प्रविभागतत्त्ववित्स broken across two rows with a line-wrap hyphen (…तत्त्ववि- / त्स); rejoined and written as the pada break falls (…तत्त्ववित् । स मुच्यते…), as in the critical edition (tattvavit; sa mucyate). The stray ' ।' after the hyphen was dropped.