FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 14.5

सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणा: प्रकृतिसम्भवा: । निबध्‍नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् ॥ ५ ॥
sattvaṁ rajas tama iti
[sattvam rajas tama iti]
guṇāḥ prakṛti-sambhavāḥ
[gunaah prakriti-sambhavaah]
nibadhnanti mahā-bāho
[nibadhnanti mahaa-baaho]
dehe dehinam avyayam
[dehe dehinam avyayam]
Word-for-word
sattvam — the mode of goodness rajaḥ — the mode of passion tamaḥ — the mode of ignorance iti — thus guṇāḥ — the qualities prakṛti — material nature sambhavāḥ — produced of nibadhnanti — do condition mahā - bāho — O mighty-armed one dehe — in this body dehinam — the living entity avyayam — eternal .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sattvaṁ rajas tama iti
sattvam
the mode of goodness
rajaḥ
the mode of passion
tamaḥ
the mode of ignorance
iti
thus
guṇāḥ prakṛti-sambhavāḥ
guṇāḥ
the qualities
prakṛti
material nature
sambhavāḥ
produced of
nibadhnanti mahā-bāho
nibadhnanti
do condition
mahā - bāho
O mighty-armed one
dehe dehinam avyayam
dehe
in this body
dehinam
the living entity
avyayam
eternal .
Important Words
  • sattvam rajaḥ tamaḥ — goodness, passion, ignorance
    Named in this sequence — the canonical order, brightest to darkest. Memorize it; it returns through the rest of the chapter as the structural spine.
  • guṇāḥ — the qualities
    Guṇa here is technical, not casual: not merely 'quality' but the three constituent ropes (guṇa = strand) of prakṛti. The plural is doctrinal — exactly three, the Sāṅkhya inheritance. They do not arise from the soul; they are imposed upon it.
  • prakṛti-sambhavāḥ — produced of material nature
    Sambhava — coming-into-being, produced-of. The compound locates the guṇas squarely in prakṛti. They are not the soul's properties leaking out; they are matter's properties imposed on the embodied soul through its contact with the body.
  • nibadhnanti — they condition, they bind
    Ni-bandh — to tie down. All three modes bind, including sattva. The first hint that the chapter's goal is not better mode-balance but escape from the modes altogether.
  • dehinam avyayam — the eternal embodied
    Avyaya — imperishable. The verse pairs avyaya (the soul) with the binding modes precisely to emphasize the absurdity: the eternal is tied down by the temporary. That gap is the wound the chapter heals.
Material nature consists of three modes – goodness, passion and ignorance. When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he becomes conditioned by these modes.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
The chapter's thesis verse: three guṇas — sattva, rajas, tamas — emerge from prakṛti and lash the indestructible self to the body. The paradox is sharp: the deathless ātman is tied down by qualities that are themselves only mutable strands of matter.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
First explicit naming of the three guṇas in the Gītā as a triad. 'Guṇa' literally means 'strand' (of a rope) — Sāṅkhya's image of prakṛti as a three-ply cord binding puruṣa. Crucially, 'avyayam' (imperishable) is the object of 'nibadhnanti': matter cannot truly alter ātman, only fetter it apparently. The chapter then asks: how does the unbreakable get bound, and how does it slip free? Cross-ref BG 13.21–23 on puruṣa and the guṇas.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
हे महाबाहो! सत्त्वं रजः तमः इति प्रकृति-सम्भवाः गुणाः देहे अव्ययं देहिनं निबध्नन्ति ।
he mahābāho! sattvaṃ rajaḥ tamaḥ iti prakṛti-sambhavāḥ guṇāḥ dehe avyayaṃ dehinaṃ nibadhnanti |
O mighty-armed one, the qualities called sattva, rajas and tamas, born of prakṛti, bind down the imperishable embodied one (ātman) in the body.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
सत्त्वं रजः तमः इति गुणाः प्रकृति-सम्भवाः । निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनम् अव्ययम् ॥
sattvaṃ rajaḥ tamaḥ iti guṇāḥ prakṛti-sambhavāḥ | nibadhnanti mahābāho dehe dehinam avyayam ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
सत्त्वम् sattvam सत्त्व (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), 'goodness, lucidity' sattva (goodness)
रजः rajaḥ रजस् (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), 'passion, activity' rajas (passion)
तमः tamaḥ तमस् (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), 'darkness, inertia' tamas (ignorance)
इति iti ind. (indeclinable), quotative, 'thus, so called' thus
गुणाः guṇāḥ गुण (m.) nom.pl. (nominative plural), 'qualities, strands' qualities
प्रकृति-सम्भवाः prakṛti-sambhavāḥ प्रकृति (f.) + सम्भव (adj.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound), 'born of prakṛti' born of prakṛti
निबध्नन्ति nibadhnanti नि+√बन्ध् pres. (present) 3pl.par. (parasmaipada / active voice), 'they bind down' bind
महाबाहो mahābāho महाबाहु (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular), 'O mighty-armed one' O mighty-armed
देहे dehe देह (m./n.) loc.sg. (locative singular), 'in the body' in the body
देहिनम् dehinam देहिन् (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), 'the embodied (soul)' the embodied
अव्ययम् avyayam अव्यय (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m., 'imperishable, undecaying' imperishable
Purport

The living entity, because he is transcendental, has nothing to do with this material nature. Still, because he has become conditioned by the material world, he is acting under the spell of the three modes of material nature. Because living entities have different kinds of bodies, in terms of the different aspects of nature, they are induced to act according to that nature. This is the cause of the varieties of happiness and distress.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
5. The guṇas of sattva, rajas and tamas arising from prakṛti bind the unchanging jīva in this body, O Mighty-armed one.
Commentary

After the Lord has described the appearance of all the living entities through prakṛti (mother) and puruṣa (father), how are the guṇas to be described? What type of bondage arises for the jīva from association with these guṇas? This verse answers these questions. In the body, the product of prakṛti, the guṇas bind up the jīva (dehinam) situated there by his identification with it, due to the association with the guṇas arising from beginningless ignorance, even though the jīva actually is without change (avyayam) and not attached.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
5. The guṇas of sattva, rajas and tama arising from prakṛti bind the unchanging jīva in this body, O Mighty-armed one.
Commentary

In four verses the Lord describes the guṇas, how the jīva becomes related to the guṇas, or how they bind him. The guṇas known as sattva, rajas and tams arise from prakṛti. They bind up the indestructible jīva, who is actually without change (avyayam), who is situated in a body made from the guṇas. They bind him with their quality of illusory happiness and distress, which are accepted by the jīva without understanding their true nature.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

It is not all living entities who become conditioned by the modes of material nature, but there is a qualification for being conditioned by them. Or, seeing from another point of view, a disqualification from being free, liberated. That mentality that one has to have to be entangled with the modes of material nature is that ‑ he wants to enjoy. The root cause of it is his misuse of his free will and envy of Krsna. Instead of Krsna being 'bhoktaram', the living entity is thinking, 'isvar aham bhogi', "I am the controller, I am the enjoyer", and therefore he is placed by Krsna within the prision house of the material world and the bars or the binding elements of this prison house are explained in this Text: they are the three modes of material nature. This Section A, is like a prelude to the other sections. How the soul becomes conditioned by the material energy.

[B. DESCRIPTION OF THE THREE MODES AND THE RESULTS OF THEIR ASSO‑ CIATION (14. 6‑18)]

Texts 6, 7, and 8 of this Section explain the conditioning of the three modes of material nature. How the modes conditione the living entity. In Text 9 there is a summary of that previously explained. In Text 10 shows just a specific point in the interactions of the modes. In Texts 11 to 13, how the modes manifest themselves within an individual. In Texts 14 to 15, the results of death when one is controlled by one or another of the modes. In Texts 16 to 18, the results of action within the modes. If one gets a clear understanding of the modes of material nature, he begins to see that everyone is completely controlled. He begins to see people acting, thinking as if they had free will, but actually completely encased and bound up by the modes of material nature. Everywhere, there is nothing in the existence of this material world that is free from the actions of the three modes. This Section gives the basic information on the three modes of material nature and how they control or conditione a living entity. We say conditioned living entity because he is controlled by the three modes of material nature.

[ 1. The mode of goodness is illuminating and it frees one from sinful reaction, but one becomes conditioned by a sense of happiness and knowledge. (6) ]

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

The living entity gets conditioned

The eternal living entity comes in contact with material nature and becomes conditioned by it. In other words, despite his desire for independent enjoyment, his existence is subject to strict control by the modes of material nature.
The fault which causes the soul’s conditioned state certainly rests in his own independent desire. We cannot blame Krishna any more than a criminal can blame a judge for his jail sentence. LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 14.5 & 14.6: The next group of verses describes the effects of each of the modes upon the conditioned soul. Texts 14.6, 14.7 and 14.8, one after another, explain the ways in which goodness, passion and ignorance force a soul to experience his existence

Texts 14.6* – 14.8*

COMMON THEME: Effects (Binding-force) of each of the modes upon the conditioned souls

Focus of Learning

(a) Three types of conditioned living entites – happy, active, helpless (14.6)

(b) Representative type of “Goodness” – Brahmana (14.6)

(c) The best examples for Goodness – Scientist, Philosopher and Poet (14.6)

Proud of their knowledge
Sense of advanced happiness binds them and keeps them in repeated birth and death
Feel a sort of material happiness because of improved living conditions
What causes the sense of happiness – because one is more or less free from sinful reactions
Destiny – no likelihood of liberation

(d) Passion binds by the ropes of “Desire” and “Attachment” (14.7*)

Characteristic type – Attraction between man and woman
“Advancement of modern civilization” – Is considered in the mode of passion (Formerly “advanced condition” was considered to be in the mode of goodness)
Some “Products of mode of passion”
Hankering for material enjoyment and sense gratification
Wants honour in society, nation etc.
Wants happy family with wife, house, children etc.
To construct a residence for sense gratification – One works hard for a palatial house as if it is eternal (14.12)
Thus bound by “Fruits of work”
Destiny – No chance of liberation

(a) Why the transcendental living-entity suffers

Living entity although transcendental, but has become conditioned by the material world and thus under the spell of material modes
Different bodies and different activities under the different modes is the “cause of varieties of happiness and distress”

SUMMARIZED THEME 14A

WORKINGS OF THE THREE MODES

Mode

Binding force

(14.6 – 14.8)

Characteristics and

manifestations

(14.11 – 14.23)

Destination at

death

(14.14 – 14.15)

Results of action

(14.16 – 14.18)

Goodness

Sense of:

1. Happiness

2. Satisfaction

3. Knowledge

4. Superiority

1. Illuminates the

gates of the body

with knowledge

2. Frees one from

sinful reactions

Attains the

pure, higher

planets of the

great sages

1. Pure

2. Knowledge (sees

things as they are)

3. Elevation to higher

planets like

Brahmaloka or

Janaloka

Passion

1. Attachment to

fruitive activities

2. Binds by the

ropes of desire

and attachment

1. Intense, unlimited

desires and longings

2. Great attachment

3. Fruitive activities

Attains earthly

planets

1. Misery

2. Greed

3. Earthly planets

Ignorance

1. Madness

2. Indolence

(Laziness)

3. Sleep

1. Delusion/ illusion

2. Darkness

3. Madness

4. Inertia

Birth in lower

species

1. Foolishness

2. Madness

3. Illusion

4. Life in hellish worlds

(e) Ignorance (14.8)

“Tu” (But) – implies this mode is a very particular qualification of embodied soul. It is just the opposite of the mode of goodness (This is the difference from mode of goodness)
Destiny – no advancement but one becomes degraded
Definition of ‘Mode of ignorance’ in the Vedic literatures – Under the spell of ignorance one cannot under a thing as it is. This is manifested as follows:
Madness: Everyone is dying, but people are madly accumulating money and not caring for the eternal spirit
Lazy: Not Interested when invited to associate for spiritual understanding
Sleep: Six hours is sufficient, but in ignorance

▪ One sleeps 10 – 12 hours per day

▪ Always dejected

▪ Addicted to intoxicants and sleeping

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
14.5 O mighty-armed one-who are possessed of hands which are great and mighty, and extend upto the knees, gunah, the alities are named sattva, rajas and tamas. And they, prakrti-sambhavah, born of Nature, born of Maya which belongs to God; nibadhnanti, bind, as it were; the avyayam, immutable-the immutability has been spoken of in the verse, 'Being without beginning৷৷.,' etc. (13.31); dehinam, embodied being; dehe, to the body. The word guna is a technical term, and is not a ality like colour etc. which inhere in some substance. Nor is it meant here that ality and substance are different. Therefore they are ever dependent on the Knower of the field, just as alities are dependent (on some substance). Being of the nature of ignorance, they bind the Knower of the field, as it were. They come into being, making That (Knower) their sustainer. In this sense it is said that they bind. Objection; Was it not said that the embodied one does not become defiled (see 13.31-2)? So, why as it contrarily said here that 'they bind'? Reply: We have rutted this objection by using the word iva (as it were) in 'they bind, as it were'.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
14.5 The three Gunas of Prakrti - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas - are inherent in the essential nature of Prakrti and are particular expressions of it. They can be known only through their effects such as 'brightness' etc. They are not apparent in the unevolved state of Prakrti but become apparent in its transformations as Mahat etc. They bind the self, which is conjoined with bodies such as those of divinities, men etc., composed of the modifications of Prakrti beginning with Mahat and ending with the elements. The self is immutable, i.e., It is not in Its pristine nature conjoined with the Gunas. But the Gunas bind It when residing in the body. The meaning is that they bind It by virtue of the limiting conditions of Its living in the body. Sri Krsna proceeds to speak of the nature of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas and their modes of binding (the self):
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
14.5 Sattvam etc. This embodied Soul is bound fast by Her (the Mother) by means of Her attributes of the Sattva, the Rajas and the Tamas for the former's enjoyment that continues till his emancipation. The nature of these is detailed one by one -
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
14.5 Purity, passion and inertia these alities, O Arjuna, born of Nature, bind fast in the body, the embodied, the indestructible.
Commentary

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 Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
14.5 O mighty-armed one, the alities, viz sattva, rajas and tamas, born of Nature, being the immutable embodies being to the body.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
14.5 Purity, Passion and Ignorance are the Qualities which the Law of nature bringeth forth. They fetter the free Spirit in all beings.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 3.5 BG 7.13 BG 18.40 SB 11.25.1 SB 3.26.11 SB 1.2.29 CC Madhya 19.140 CC Madhya 20.117 CC Madhya 24.135 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 1.3Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.5
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Material nature consists of three modes — sattva, rajas, tamas — these bind the eternal soul to the body.
Practical Applications
  • Identify which mode is currently dominant in you.
  • Recognize that all three bind, even sattva.
  • Aim for transcendence, not merely dominance of sattva.
Reflection Questions
  • Which mode dominates me currently?
  • What is my plan for transcending all three?
Analogy

Three strands twisted into a single rope — that is how sattva, rajas, and tamas hold the soul to the body. Each strand alone is thin; braided, they are a binding. The chapter's later verses will teach how to slip the knot.

Stories
Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Vidura — three modes in one household

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, bound by tamas (blindness, indulgence of Duryodhana, willful unknowing), shared a palace with Vidura, fixed in sattva (clear vision, plain food, plain speech). Between them Duryodhana raged in rajas — ambition, scheming, restless conquest.

The Mahābhārata uses one royal household to display all three modes binding three eternal souls in three styles. The same souls, the same king's blood — the modes alone produced the divergence.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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