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The Three Gunas
गुणत्रयविभागयोगः · Guṇatraya-vibhāga-yoga · 27 verses
Krishna explains the three qualities, or gunas, that make up all of nature: goodness, passion and inertia. Everything we do, think and feel is coloured by one of them. He shows how each one binds us, how to recognise them, and what it means to rise above all three.
Traditionally linked with the 8th house and with a benefic planet that feels stuck there. The three qualities give a way to read what is blocking progress: restless over-activity, heaviness, or clarity. It is read when finances or progress feel stuck, to loosen that stuck energy and make change feel less like a threat. It is a reflective practice, not a prediction and not financial advice.
श्रीभगवानुवाच
परं भूयः प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञानानां ज्ञानमुत्तमम् ।
यज्ज्ञात्वा मुनयः सर्वे परां सिद्धिमितो गताः ॥
śrībhagavānuvāca
paraṃ bhūyaḥ pravakṣyāmi jñānānāṃ jñānamuttamam |
yajjñātvā munayaḥ sarve parāṃ siddhimito gatāḥ ||
इदं ज्ञानमुपाश्रित्य मम साधर्म्यमागताः ।
सर्गेऽपि नोपजायन्ते प्रलये न व्यथन्ति च ॥
idaṃ jñānamupāśritya mama sādharmyamāgatāḥ |
sarge’pi nopajāyante pralaye na vyathanti ca ||
Krishna says: I will tell you again the highest knowledge, the best of all, by which sages reached supreme perfection. Those who rely on this knowledge become like Me; they are not born again when the world is created, nor shaken when it dissolves.
मम योनिर्महद् ब्रह्म तस्मिन्गर्भं दधाम्यहम् ।
सम्भवः सर्वभूतानां ततो भवति भारत ॥
mama yonirmahad brahma tasmingarbhaṃ dadhāmyaham |
sambhavaḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ tato bhavati bhārata ||
सर्वयोनिषु कौन्तेय मूर्तयः सम्भवन्ति याः ।
तासां ब्रह्म महद्योनिरहं बीजप्रदः पिता ॥
sarvayoniṣu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ |
tāsāṃ brahma mahadyonirahaṃ bījapradaḥ pitā ||
The great Brahman, the womb of nature, is My womb, and into it I place the seed; from this, all beings arise. Whatever forms are born from any womb, great nature is their mother and I am the seed-giving father.
सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसम्भवाः ।
निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् ॥
sattvaṃ rajastama iti guṇāḥ prakṛtisambhavāḥ |
nibadhnanti mahābāho dehe dehinamavyayam ||
Goodness, passion and inertia, the three qualities born of nature, bind the unchanging self to the body.
तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम् ।
सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ ॥
tatra sattvaṃ nirmalatvātprakāśakamanāmayam |
sukhasaṅgena badhnāti jñānasaṅgena cānagha ||
रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् ।
तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम् ॥
rajo rāgātmakaṃ viddhi tṛṣṇāsaṅgasamudbhavam |
tannibadhnāti kaunteya karmasaṅgena dehinam ||
तमस्त्वज्ञानजं विद्धि मोहनं सर्वदेहिनाम् ।
प्रमादालस्यनिद्राभिस्तन्निबध्नाति भारत ॥
tamastvajñānajaṃ viddhi mohanaṃ sarvadehinām |
pramādālasyanidrābhistannibadhnāti bhārata ||
सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रजः कर्मणि भारत ।
ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तमः प्रमादे सञ्जयत्युत ॥
sattvaṃ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata |
jñānamāvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayatyuta ||
Goodness is pure, bright and healthy, and it binds through attachment to happiness and knowledge. Passion is born of craving and attachment, and it binds through attachment to action. Inertia is born of ignorance, deludes everyone, and binds through carelessness, laziness and too much sleep. In short, goodness clings to happiness, passion to action, and inertia veils knowledge and clings to heedlessness.
रजस्तमश्चाभिभूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत ।
रजः सत्त्वं तमश्चैव तमः सत्त्वं रजस्तथा ॥
rajastamaścābhibhūya sattvaṃ bhavati bhārata |
rajaḥ sattvaṃ tamaścaiva tamaḥ sattvaṃ rajastathā ||
Sometimes goodness rises over passion and inertia, sometimes passion over the other two, and sometimes inertia. They keep trading places in us.
सर्वद्वारेषु देहेऽस्मिन्प्रकाश उपजायते ।
ज्ञानं यदा तदा विद्याद्विवृद्धं सत्त्वमित्युत ॥
sarvadvāreṣu dehe’sminprakāśa upajāyate |
jñānaṃ yadā tadā vidyādvivṛddhaṃ sattvamityuta ||
लोभः प्रवृत्तिरारम्भः कर्मणामशमः स्पृहा ।
रजस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे भरतर्षभ ॥
lobhaḥ pravṛttirārambhaḥ karmaṇāmaśamaḥ spṛhā |
rajasyetāni jāyante vivṛddhe bharatarṣabha ||
अप्रकाशोऽप्रवृत्तिश्च प्रमादो मोह एव च ।
तमस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे कुरुनन्दन ॥
aprakāśo’pravṛttiśca pramādo moha eva ca |
tamasyetāni jāyante vivṛddhe kurunandana ||
When the light of understanding shines through every gate of the body, goodness is strong. Greed, restless activity, starting new ventures and longing show that passion is rising. Dullness, laziness, carelessness and confusion show that inertia is rising.
यदा सत्त्वे प्रवृद्धे तु प्रलयं याति देहभृत् ।
तदोत्तमविदां लोकानमलान्प्रतिपद्यते ॥
yadā sattve pravṛddhe tu pralayaṃ yāti dehabhṛt |
tadottamavidāṃ lokānamalānpratipadyate ||
रजसि प्रलयं गत्वा कर्मसङ्गिषु जायते ।
तथा प्रलीनस्तमसि मूढयोनिषु जायते ॥
rajasi pralayaṃ gatvā karmasaṅgiṣu jāyate |
tathā pralīnastamasi mūḍhayoniṣu jāyate ||
If a person dies when goodness is strong, they reach the pure worlds of those who know the highest. If they die in passion, they are born among those attached to action; if in inertia, among the confused.
कर्मणः सुकृतस्याहुः सात्त्विकं निर्मलं फलम् ।
रजसस्तु फलं दुःखमज्ञानं तमसः फलम् ॥
karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyāhuḥ sāttvikaṃ nirmalaṃ phalam |
rajasastu phalaṃ duḥkhamajñānaṃ tamasaḥ phalam ||
सत्त्वात्सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च ।
प्रमादमोहौ तमसो भवतोऽज्ञानमेव च ॥
sattvātsañjāyate jñānaṃ rajaso lobha eva ca |
pramādamohau tamaso bhavato’jñānameva ca ||
ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः ।
जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसाः ॥
ūrdhvaṃ gacchanti sattvasthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ |
jaghanyaguṇavṛttisthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ ||
The fruit of good action is called pure and bright; the fruit of passion is pain; the fruit of inertia is ignorance. From goodness comes knowledge, from passion greed, and from inertia carelessness, confusion and ignorance. Those established in goodness rise upward, those in passion stay in the middle, and those in inertia sink downward.
नान्यं गुणेभ्यः कर्तारं यदा द्रष्टानुपश्यति ।
गुणेभ्यश्च परं वेत्ति मद्भावं सोऽधिगच्छति ॥
nānyaṃ guṇebhyaḥ kartāraṃ yadā draṣṭānupaśyati |
guṇebhyaśca paraṃ vetti madbhāvaṃ so’dhigacchati ||
गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान् ।
जन्ममृत्युजरादुःखैर्विमुक्तोऽमृतमश्नुते ॥
guṇānetānatītya trīndehī dehasamudbhavān |
janmamṛtyujarāduḥkhairvimukto’mṛtamaśnute ||
When a seer sees no agent other than these qualities and knows what is beyond them, that person attains My nature. By crossing beyond these three qualities that arise with the body, the embodied one is freed from birth, death, old age and sorrow, and reaches immortality.
अर्जुन उवाच
कैर्लिङ्गैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो ।
किमाचारः कथं चैतांस्त्रीन्गुणानतिवर्तते ॥
arjuna uvāca
kairliṅgaistrīnguṇānetānatīto bhavati prabho |
kimācāraḥ kathaṃ caitāṃstrīnguṇānativartate ||
Arjuna asks: what marks a person who has gone beyond the three qualities? How do they live, and how do they cross over?
श्रीभगवानुवाच
प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव ।
न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति ॥
śrībhagavānuvāca
prakāśaṃ ca pravṛttiṃ ca mohameva ca pāṇḍava |
na dveṣṭi sampravṛttāni na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati ||
उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते ।
गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येवं योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते ॥
udāsīnavadāsīno guṇairyo na vicālyate |
guṇā vartanta ityevaṃ yo’vatiṣṭhati neṅgate ||
समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः ।
तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस्तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः ॥
samaduḥkhasukhaḥ svasthaḥ samaloṣṭāśmakāñcanaḥ |
tulyapriyāpriyo dhīrastulyanindātmasaṃstutiḥ ||
मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः ।
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीतः स उच्यते ॥
mānāpamānayostulyastulyo mitrāripakṣayoḥ |
sarvārambhaparityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate ||
Krishna answers: such a person does not hate light, activity or confusion when they appear, nor long for them when they leave. Seated like one unconcerned, unmoved by the qualities and knowing that they alone are acting, they stay firm. Equal in pain and pleasure, at home in the self, the same toward a clod, a stone or gold; the same toward the dear and the unwelcome, steady in praise and blame, in honour and disgrace, toward friend and foe, and giving up every selfish undertaking, they are said to have crossed beyond the qualities.
मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते ।
स गुणान्समतीत्यैतान्ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥
māṃ ca yo’vyabhicāreṇa bhaktiyogena sevate |
sa guṇānsamatītyaitānbrahmabhūyāya kalpate ||
ब्रह्मणो हि प्रतिष्ठाहममृतस्याव्ययस्य च ।
शाश्वतस्य च धर्मस्य सुखस्यैकान्तिकस्य च ॥
brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāhamamṛtasyāvyayasya ca |
śāśvatasya ca dharmasya sukhasyaikāntikasya ca ||
Whoever serves Me with steady devotion goes beyond the three qualities and becomes fit to be one with Brahman. For I am the foundation of Brahman: of the immortal and imperishable, of eternal dharma, and of absolute bliss.
The verses are the traditional Sanskrit text. The explanations are original summaries, not a particular translator's words. The astrology guide is a devotional, reflective practice, not a prediction and not a substitute for professional advice.