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Ch 14 · Guṇatraya-Vibhāga-Yoga
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Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 14, Verse 5: Krishna to Arjuna — Guṇatraya-Vibhāga-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 14.5Chapter 14 · Guṇatraya-Vibhāga-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh
सत्त्वं रजस् तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसंभवाः ।
निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् ॥
sattvaṃ← sattva(20 verses)nominative neuter singular nounpurity, lightness (the first guṇa); being, essence raja← rajas(13 verses)nominative neuter singular nounpassion, activity (the second guṇa); dusts tama← tamas(16 verses)nominative neuter singular noundarkness, inertia (the third guṇa); ignorance iti← iti(73 verses)thus (quotative particle) guṇāḥ← guṇa(35 verses)nominative masculine plural nounquality, attribute (esp. the three guṇas: sattva/rajas/tamas)attested in commentariesadvaitaइति पारिभाषिकः शब्दः, न रूपादिवत् द्रव्याश्रिताः गुणाःviśiṣṭādvaitaप्रकृतेः स्वरूपानुबन्धिनः स्वभावविशेषाः प्रकाशादिकार्यैकनिरूपणीयाः प्रकृत्यवस्थायाम् अनुद्भूताः तद्विकारेषु महदादिषु उदśuddhādvaita, अपितु प्रकृतेरुक्ताः प्रकृतिसम्भवा इति सम्भूतं चेतनं तत्तद्देहे गुणाbhaktiप्रकृतिसंभवाः प्रकृतितः संभव उद्भवो येषां ते तथोक्ताःadvaita-bhaktiकथं वा ते बध्नन्तीत्युच्यते -- सत्त्वमित्यादिनान्यमित्यतः प्राक्चतुर्दशभिः -- सत्त्वंरजस्तम इत्येवंनामानो गुणा नित्यपरत prakṛti← prakṛti(28 verses)compound (compound member)primordial nature (pra- + √kṛ 'do' — 'that from which all is made')-saṃbhavāḥ← sambhava(5 verses)nominative masculine plural nounorigin, birth (sam- + √bhū)
nibadhnanti← ni-√bandh(9 verses)present indicative 3rd person plural verbto bind, tie down (ni- + √bandh)attested in commentariesadvaitaइति उच्यतेviśiṣṭādvaitaदेहे,वर्तमानत्वोपाधिना निबध्नन्ति इत्यर्थःśuddhādvaita। त्वं तं बन्धं,निवर्त्तयेति सम्बोधयति।bhakti। स्वकार्यैः सुखदुःखमोहादिभिः संयोजयन्तीत्यर्थः।advaita-bhaktiनिर्विकारमेव सन्तं स्वविकारवत्तयोपदर्शयन्तीव भ्रान्त्या जलपात्राणीव दिवि स्थितमादित्यं प्रतिबिम्बाध्यासेन स्वकम्पादिमत् mahā← mahat(43 verses)compound (compound member)great, large; the cosmic intellect (mahattattva)-bāho← bāhu(19 verses)vocative masculine singular nounarm dehe← deha(18 verses)locative neuter singular nounbodyattested in commentariesadvaitaशरीरे देहिनं देहवन्तम् अव्ययम्, अव्ययत्वंviśiṣṭādvaitaवर्तमानं निबध्नन्ति देहे,वर्तमानत्वोपाधिना निबध्नन्ति इत्यर्थःbhaktiतादात्म्येन स्थितं देहिनं चिदंशं वस्तुतोऽव्ययं निर्विकारमेव सन्तं निबध्नन्तिadvaita-bhaktiप्रकृतिकार्ये शरीरेन्द्रियसंघाते देहिनं देहतादात्म्याध्यासापन्नं जीवं परमार्थतः सर्वविकारशून्यत्वेनाव्ययं निबध्नन्ति नि dehinam← dehin(10 verses)accusative masculine singular nounembodied being; the soul in a bodyattested in commentariesviśiṣṭādvaitaअव्ययं स्वतो गुणसम्बन्धानर्हं देहे वर्तमानं निबध्नन्ति देहे,वर्तमानत्वोपाधिना निबध्नन्ति इत्यर्थः avyayam← avyaya(23 verses)accusative masculine singular nounimperishable (a- + vyaya 'perishable', from vi-√i 'go away')attested in commentariesadvaita, अव्ययत्वं
spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip
meaning

Sattva, rajas, and tamas arise from nature and bind the imperishable self within the body.

Bhāṣyakāra purports

  • Śaṅkaraadvaita

    Sattva (lucidity), rajas (agitation), and tamas (inertia) are gunas (strands) — a technical term: not qualities inhering in a substance as color does, nor is difference between quality and quality-bearer asserted here. Born of prakrti (primordial nature), which is Bhagavan's maya, they bind as if (iva) — they appear to bind the avyaya (imperishable) dehin (body-bearer) in the deha (body). The 'iva' is decisive: because the kshetrajna is in truth unlipyate (unstained), binding is only appearance, not ultimate fact.

    divergence: Shankara's gloss on 'nibadhnanti iva' — the particle iva carries the entire Advaita resolution of the apparent contradiction between dehi's imperishability and the gunas' binding force.

  • Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

    Sattva, rajas, and tamas are three gunas that are svarupa-anubandhin (intrinsic to the nature) of prakrti — latent in prakrti itself, manifest in its vikara (modifications) beginning with mahat. Through the chain of mahat-adi modifications that compose the bodies of gods, humans, and the rest, they bind this dehin — who is avyaya (unchanging by nature, inherently unfit for guna-contact) — by the upadhi (limiting adjunct) of being present in a body. The binding is real within the cosmic economy of Ishvara's creation, not a mere appearance.

    divergence: Ramanuja's 'dehevartamanatvupadhina nibadhnanti' — the limiting adjunct of embodiment is the actual mechanism, distinguishing his reading sharply from Shankara's 'iva'.

  • Madhvadvaita

    The Lord shows the mode of bondage (bandha-prakara) precisely so the sadhaka may undertake the appropriate anushtana (practice) for liberation. Sattva, rajas, tamas — gunas born of prakrti — bind the jiva in the deha. The jiva is avyaya only in the sense of being a genuine eternal entity distinct from both Ishvara and prakrti; it is nonetheless truly, not merely apparently, bound when under the sway of these gunas, and only Hari's anugraha (grace) releases it.

    divergence: Madhva's terse 'bandha-prakaram darshayati sadhananushthanaya' frames the entire chapter as practical instruction, not metaphysical description — a distinctively Dvaita pastoral reading.

  • Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

    Bhagavan, by His own iccha (will), first enacted the lila (divine play) of creating prakrti in the jivas; now He enacts bandha-lila (the play of bondage) through fourteen shlokas. These gunas are not the atman's own properties — they belong to prakrti. Yet mula-rupa (at their root) they are transformations of Bhagavan's own sat-cid-ananda (being-consciousness-bliss); having entered the jada (inert) domain, they become bandhakas (binders) — hence their name guna ('that which binds'). The avyaya cidamsha (imperishable conscious particle) in the body is bound by them, and Bhagavan addresses Arjuna as the one capable of removing that bondage.

    divergence: Vallabha's 'bandha-lila' frame and the etymology of 'guna' as 'that which binds' (bandhanashleshad guna iti samjna) are unique to his commentary and mark the Pushti-marga inflection.

  • Śrīdharabhakti

    Having established the origin of all beings through prakrti and purusha under Parameshvara's sovereignty, the text now elaborates samsara (transmigration) arising from prakrti-samyoga (contact with nature). Sattva, rajas, tamas are three gunas born of prakrti — manifest distinctly from the equilibrium of guna-samya (balanced prakrti). In the deha — the body that is prakrti's karya (product) — where the dehin abides through tadatmya-adhyasa (superimposition of identity), the gunas, though in reality avyaya and nirvikara (immutable, changeless), bind him by connecting him with their own karyas: sukha (pleasure), duhkha (pain), and moha (delusion).

    divergence: Sridhara's 'svakaryaih sukha-duhkha-mohad-ibhih sanyojayanti' names the binding instruments explicitly, providing the most pedagogically direct gloss of the six schools.

  • Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

    Having refuted nirIshvara-sankhya (Sankhya without Ishvara) and established that kshetra-kshetrajna-samyoga is Ishvara-adhina (under the Lord's control), the text now asks: in which guna does sanga arise, what are the gunas, and how do they bind? The gunas — named sattva, rajas, tamas — are nitya-paratantra (eternally dependent) on purusha; they are not qualities in a substance as in Vaisheshika. Prakrti is maya, Bhagavan's own — the gunas are her parinama (transformation) in mutual anga-angi-bhava (part-whole hierarchy). They bind the dehin — avyaya in ultimate truth, entirely free of vikara — not through real binding but by superimposing their own vikara (modifications) on him, as a vessel's reflection makes the unmoving sun appear to shake. The 'iva' of Shankara's reading is preserved, yet maya is explicitly Bhagavan's own power, honoring both jnana and bhakti.

    divergence: Madhusudhana's water-vessel analogy (jala-patra pratibimba-adhyasa) for apparent binding, combined with his insistence that maya is 'bhagavatas tasya' — belonging to the Lord — marks the Advaita-bhakti synthesis distinctively.

Sūtrakṛt-Gītā · v1.0 · gita.ekrasworks.com