tatra sattvaṃ nirmalatvātprakāśakamanāmayam .
sukhasaṅgena badhnāti jñānasaṅgena cānagha ||14-6||
Of these, Sattva, which from its stainlessness is luminous and healthy, binds by attachment to happiness and by attachment to knowledge, O sinless one.
In simple words
Krishna describes the first quality — purity (sattva): "Purity is clean and luminous. It creates health and clarity. But even purity binds you — it binds you through your attachment to happiness and your attachment to knowledge."
Word-by-word meanings
तत्रof theseसत्त्वम्purityनिर्मलत्वात्from its stainlessnessप्रकाशकम्luminousअनामयम्healthyसुखसङ्गेनby attachment to happinessबध्नातिbindsज्ञानसङ्गेनby attachment to knowledgeचandअनगO sinless one
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
14.6 तत्र of these? सत्त्वम् purity? निर्मलत्वात् from its stainlessness? प्रकाशकम् luminous? अनामयम् healthy? सुखसङ्गेन by attachment to happiness? बध्नाति binds? ज्ञानसङ्गेन by attachment to knowledge? च and? अनग O sinless one.Commentary Sattva is stainless like the crystal. It lays for one the trap of happiness and knowledge. It is a golden fetter. A Sattvic man compares himself with others and rejoices in his excellence. He is puffed up with his knowledge. His heart is filled with pride when he thinks that he,has more comforts or more pleasant experiences. He thinks? I am happy I am wise? and so he is bound as it were. These ideas really belong to the field but they are transferred through superimposition to the Self on account of the force of SattvaGuna.Rajas and Tamas are pitfalls on the path of knowledge.This attachment to happiness is an illusion. This is ignorance. An attribute of the object cannot belong to the subject. All the alities from desire to firmness (Cf.XIII.6) belong to the field. From ignorance? nondiscrimination is born and so the individual self is not able to discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent? the subject and the object.Knowledge is an attribute of the Antahkarana (inner instrument? viz.? mind? intellect? the unconscious and the ego) but not of the Self. It if were an attribute of the Self? it could not produce attachment and bondage. Sattva binds the soul to knowledge through attachment.
Swami Chinmayananda
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.
# BG 14.6 — English Translation
Across all branches of knowledge, it is universally acknowledged that nothing can be defined without describing its characteristics. This principle holds true whether we speak of disease or emotion. Similarly, these gunas cannot be defined in themselves alone. In the verses that follow, we shall learn what the characteristics of these gunas are, and how a person behaves when dominated by any particular guna. Undoubtedly, this descriptive approach will be most helpful to us seekers, for by observing and analyzing the thoughts and feelings that arise in our minds, we shall be able to determine which guna holds sway over us at any given moment. Thus, we shall also be able to strive to free ourselves from the bondage of that influence.
The sattva guna is luminous because it is pure—just as water is naturally clear, yet becomes polluted when mixed with other substances. Similarly, the sattva guna, being inherently pure, is illuminating; it clearly reflects the consciousness of the atman. It contains neither the agitation of rajas nor the dense ignorance of tamas.
The word "anaamaya" means free from affliction, free from defects. Ignorance of one's true nature as atman, and the ego and selfishness that arise from it, are the root defects from which all other misfortunes spring. These defects arise only from rajas and tamas. Therefore, it is said here that sattva guna is inherently free from these defects. Yet, although sattva guna is pure, it too becomes binding. The bondages that arise from it are indicated here.
The sattva guna binds the soul through attachment to happiness and knowledge. Not knowing their true nature as bliss itself, beings forever seek happiness in objects. This ignorance is the mark of tamas, and the imagination and agitation regarding happiness in objects is the mark of rajas. When, through effort, the desired object is obtained, the agitation ceases for a moment. In that peaceful state, the bliss of the atman expresses itself. But the soul believes that this happiness came from the object, and identifying with that peaceful state of mind, declares, "I am happy." Thus, becoming attached to this happiness that arises from the enjoyment of objects—though it is merely a property of the field—and mistaking it for one's own nature, constitutes the bondage born of sattva guna.
The intellect dominated by sattva guna is naturally steady. Therefore, the light of consciousness is clearly reflected in it. This reflected light is what we call the light of intellect, through which we gain knowledge of objects. This is why the intellectual capacity of all persons is not equal, depending on the greater or lesser degree of this guna.
Thus, illuminated by this light of intellect, the mind produces the thought of knowing an object, and the human being, identifying with this thought, proudly declares, "I am the knower of this thing." Here too there is identification with the properties of the field, and this constitutes the bondage of attachment to knowledge.
The simple meaning of both these is this: when a person experiences a subtler happiness or knowledge, the mind becomes so deeply attached to it and absorbed in it that attention cannot suddenly turn toward the most subtle reality. This is the bondage of sattva guna. It is a golden chain—but it is still a chain.
The Lord says that sattva guna binds through attachment to happiness and knowledge. Once a person experiences the sattvic joy of creative thinking, virtuous conduct, and a life inspired by knowledge, they become so attached to it that they are willing to sacrifice everything for it. A true scientist devoted to science, laboring in the laboratory despite hunger and illness; a painter creating in solitude despite being shunned by society; a poet immersed in the joy of imagination, feeling, and words in public gardens; a patriot enduring cruel persecution; a politician living in exile for years; a mountaineer embracing death—all these are examples of those who experience sattvic joy and become attached to it, just as those of gross intellect become attached to the accumulation of wealth and material possessions.
The bondage of rajas guna occurs in the following manner: