Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 5 (BG 14.5)

জীবন্ত গীতা

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कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते

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कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते

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প্রথম পাতা

প্রথম পাতা জ্ঞান পাঠ্যক্রম সম্প্রদায়টুকে রাখা সেটিংস

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 5 — Meaning & Commentary | Live Gita

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सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसम्भवाः |
निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् ||१४-५||

sattvaṃ rajastama iti guṇāḥ prakṛtisambhavāḥ . nibadhnanti mahābāho dehe dehinamavyayam ||14-5||

Purity, passion and inertia these qualities, O Arjuna, born of Nature, bind fast in the body, the embodied, the indestructible.

In simple words

Krishna introduces the three fundamental forces of nature: "Purity, passion, and inertia — these three qualities are born from nature. They bind the eternal soul to the body, Arjuna, like ropes."

Word-by-word meanings

सत्त्वम्purityरजःpassionतमःinertiaइतिtheseगुणाःalitiesप्रकृतिसंभवाःborn of Prakritiनिबध्नन्तिbindमहाबाहोO mightyarmedदेहेin the bodyदेहिनम्the embodiedअव्ययम्the,indestructible

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

Swami Sivananda

14.5 सत्त्वम् purity? रजः passion? तमः inertia? इति these? गुणाः alities? प्रकृतिसंभवाः born of Prakriti? निबध्नन्ति bind? महाबाहो O mightyarmed? देहे in the body? देहिनम् the embodied? अव्ययम् the,indestructible.Commentary Sattva is the best. Rajas comes next. Tamas is the lowest and the worst. The three alities indicate the triple mentality. They produce attachment in the individual souls? delude them and bind them down? as it were? to Samsara. Just as the three conditions of childhood? youth and old age are found in the same body? so also the three alities inhere in the mind. The soul gets limited by identifying itself with body and the three alities. It is subject to birth and death and experiences happiness and misery? pleasure and pain? joy and sorrow till it realises its identity with the supreme Self.The word Guna is usually translated as ality. It does not signify property? attribute or ality? such as the blue colour of a cloth. Gunas are really the primary constitutents of Nature and are the basis of all substances. Therefore it is not proper to call them alities inhering in substances.If you want to attain freedom or perfection? if you wish to become immortal? you must rise above the modes of Nature. You must transcend the Gunas.If the water in the vessel is agitated? the reflected sun in the water also appears to be agitated through Pratibimba Adhyasa (superimposition of reflection on water). Even so the pure unchanging Self appears to be bound by the alities of Nature through superimposition. In reality the Self is ever free and untainted. It is beyond them.The Gunas which are only forms of ignorance are ever dependent on the knower of the field. They bind? fast? as it were? the knower of the field. They have him as the basis of their existence.A knowledge of the Gunas and their operation is very necessary. Only if you have this knowledge can you free yourself from their clutches.Mahabaho Mightyarmed with strong and sinewy arms reaching down to the kness. This is a very auspicious sign. Yogis and sages have such beautiful arms.These three Gunas are present in all human beings. No one is free from the operation of any one of the three alities of Nature. They are not constant. Sometimes Sattva predominates at other times Rajas or Tamas predominates.Sattva has the characteristic of effulgence. It is also harmony and goodness or purity. Rajas is passion or activity. Tamas is inertia or darkness.Analyse all phenomena in terms of these three. Know their characteristics. Stand as a witness of these alities. Do not identify yourself with them. Separate yourself from them. Become a Gunatita. You will attain Supreme Peace? immortality and eternal bliss. (Cf.XIII.22)

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.

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Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

Swami Sivananda

Swami Chinmayananda

The term "guna" is a technical term in spiritual philosophy, and translating it into any other language is difficult. Particularly in English, there is no equivalent word. The reason for this is that Western psychology is still in its infancy. Only when their theoretical and experimental observation and study of psychology is complete will they be able to understand the influence these gunas exert upon the thoughts that arise in the inner consciousness of each person. In spiritual literature, the three gunas—sattva, rajas, and tamas—are indicated respectively by white, red, and black colors. In Sanskrit, the word guna also means rope or cord. The implication is that these three gunas of nature are like ropes that bind the eternal, conscious Self to the inert, non-Self. In essence, these gunas are three different types of qualities that govern the mind, causing it to react in various ways to the constantly changing circumstances of existence. These gunas originate from nature. They bind the Self to the body, as it were, causing the individual soul to become entangled in the endless cycle of birth and death and the sufferings of the world. As has been stated before, these gunas of nature are not inherent properties of substance. We can only say that they are different types of qualities that cause different individuals to behave in different ways. The relationship between the Self and the non-Self is illusory, not real. The Self, which is free from the limitations of space, time, and other conditions, can never truly be bound to inert adjuncts that are limited by these conditions and are projected like a dream. It remains forever untouched by their defects, just as a pillar remains unaffected by the ghost superimposed upon it, and the waking person remains unaffected by the faults of the dream-seer. Similarly, as long as the bondage created by the three gunas appears to exist, it seems as though the Self has become identified with the individual soul through association with these non-Self adjuncts. Yet in truth, the Self remains eternally free. From the above discussion, it now becomes clear how clear knowledge of the nature of these gunas and the process of bondage they create can grant us the charter of liberation. Now, Lord Sri Krishna first describes the characteristics of sattva guna.

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.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 5 (BG 14.5) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

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