रजसि प्रलयं गत्वा कर्मसङ्गिषु जायते ।
तथा प्रलीनस्तमसि मूढयोनिषु जायते ॥
तथा प्रलीनस्तमसि मूढयोनिषु जायते ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
रजोगुणके बढ़नेपर मरनेवाला प्राणी मनुष्ययोनिमें जन्म लेता है तथा तमोगुणके बढ़नेपर मरनेवाला मूढ़योनियोंमें जन्म लेता है ॥
English
A being who dies in rajas is born among those attached to action. A being who dies in tamas is born among deluded forms.
What this verse means
The state of mind at death shapes the kind of birth that follows. Restless desire leads to another life of attachment; dull confusion leads to a lower, more deluded condition.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, Krishna is explaining the three gunas to Arjuna, who is frozen before battle. After describing how sattva leads upward, Krishna shows the other two forces: rajas pulls a being back into restless action, and tamas sinks it into confusion. This verse completes the contrast.
Why this verse still matters
You keep choosing the same kind of relationship, the same kind of fight, the same kind of excuse. Krishna would say the pattern is already teaching you where it leads.
The takeaway
Your deepest habits do not vanish at the end of a life. They carry their own momentum.
Word-by-word translation
रजसि (in rajas) / प्रलयं गत्वा (having gone to dissolution, having died) / कर्मसङ्गिषु (among those attached to action) / जायते (is born) । / तथा (similarly) / प्रलीनः (having dissolved, having died) / तमसि (in tamas) / मूढयोनिषु (among deluded births/forms) / जायते (is born)
This verse is part of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14: Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga — The Three Modes of Material Nature, which contains 27 verses.
Explore related themes: gunas (47 verses), rajas (21 verses), tamas (18 verses)