सत्त्वात्सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च ।
प्रमादमोहौ तमसो भवतोऽज्ञानमेव च ॥
प्रमादमोहौ तमसो भवतोऽज्ञानमेव च ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
सत्त्वगुणसे ज्ञान और रजोगुणसे लोभ आदि ही उत्पन्न होते हैं तमोगुणसे प्रमाद, मोह एवं अज्ञान भी उत्पन्न होता है ॥
English
From sattva comes knowledge; from rajas, greed; from tamas, negligence, delusion, and ignorance.
What this verse means
A clear, balanced nature gives rise to understanding. Restless nature produces greed. Heavy, dull nature produces carelessness, delusion, and ignorance.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, Krishna keeps explaining the three gunas to Arjuna, who is frozen before battle. After showing how they shape rebirth and action, Krishna now names their inner effects: sattva brings knowledge, rajas brings greed, and tamas brings confusion.
Why this verse still matters
You open your phone at 1 a.m. and feel the pull to keep scrolling, buying, comparing, numbing. The verse helps you name the force behind the spiral instead of calling it 'just me.'
The takeaway
You can stop treating every bad impulse as random and start seeing what kind of energy is feeding it.
Word-by-word translation
सत्त्वात् (from sattva) / सञ्जायते (is born) / ज्ञानम् (knowledge) / रजसः (from rajas) / लोभः (greed) / एव (indeed) / च (and) / प्रमादमोहौ (negligence and delusion) / तमसः (from tamas) / भवन्ति (arise) / अज्ञानम् (ignorance) / एव (indeed) / च (and)
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), sattva (26 verses), rajas (21 verses)