Chapter 14, Verse 17 (Bhagavad Gita 14.17)
Chapter 14: Guṇa Traya Vibhāg Yog – Yoga through Understanding the Three Modes of Material Nature
Sanskrit Shloka
सत्त्वात्सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च।प्रमादमोहौ तमसो भवतोऽज्ञानमेव च
Transliteration
sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṁ rajaso lobha eva cha pramāda-mohau tamaso bhavato ’jñānam eva cha
Word Meanings
sattvāt—from the mode of goodness; sañjāyate—arises; jñānam—knowledge; rajasaḥ—from the mode of passion; lobhaḥ—greed; eva—indeed; cha—and; pramāda—negligence; mohau—delusion; tamasaḥ—from the mode of ignorance; bhavataḥ—arise; ajñānam—ignorance; eva—indeed; cha—and
Translation
From Sattva arises knowledge, from Rajas arises greed, and from Tamas arise heedlessness, delusion, and also ignorance.
Meaning & Commentary
In this profound revelation on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Bhagwan Shri Krishna illuminates the tripartite nature of the material energy (Gunas) that binds the eternal soul to the cycle of samsara. He explains that our consciousness is colored by the quality of our actions and inclinations: purity leading to divine wisdom, restless ambition leading to insatiable desire, and darkness leading to spiritual inertia. By identifying these roots of our condition, Lord Krishna invites the seeker to transcend these modes entirely through pure devotion and surrender to His lotus feet. This wisdom is the path to liberation, urging the practitioner to rise above the conditioning of nature and realize their eternal, blissful relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.