Chapter 14 · Verse 17·Spoken by Arjuna
सत्त्वात्सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च।प्रमादमोहौ तमसो भवतोऽज्ञानमेव च
sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṁ rajaso lobha eva cha pramāda-mohau tamaso bhavato ’jñānam eva cha
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Sanskrit recitation by Swami Brahmānanda
Audio from the Gītā Supersite, IIT Kanpur
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Reading set · 5 translations · 3 commentaries
Translation · 5 voices
From sattva is born knowledge, and from rajas, avarice indeed. From tamas are born inadvertence, delusion, and ignorance, to be sure.
Swami Gambiranandaafter Śaṅkara's bhāṣya· paired with Śaṅkara
From Sattva arises knowledge, from Rajas arises greed, from Tamas arises negligence and delusion, and from it arises ignorance.
Swami Adidevanandaafter Rāmānuja's bhāṣya· paired with Rāmānuja
From Sattva arises wisdom; from Rajas, only greed; and from Tamas arise negligence, delusion, and ignorance.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayanafter Madhva's bhāṣya· paired with Madhva
From Sattva arises knowledge, and greed from Rajas; heedlessness and delusion arise from Tamas, and also ignorance.
Swami SivanandaThe Bhagavad Gita
Purity engenders wisdom, passion avarice, and ignorance folly, infatuation, and darkness.
Shri Purohit SwamiThe Geeta
This is a brief sub-gloss. For a fuller reading of this verse, see Madhusūdana, Śaṅkara, or Rāmānuja above.
From sattva, once it has got a self, knowledge arises, comes to be; from rajas, greed; and from tamas come both heedlessness and delusion, and ignorance too. Further.
Contemporary English rendering of the Sanskrit bhāṣya, pending scholar review.
Thus, from the greater sattva born by succession, the knowledge that is the direct vision of the truth of the self arises. Likewise, from rajas grown strong, greed for the fruits of heaven and the rest arises; and likewise, from tamas grown strong, heedlessness, engagement, occasioned by inattention, in bad action; and from that, delusion, which is contrary knowledge; and from that, a still greater tamas; and from that, ignorance, the absence of knowledge.
Contemporary English rendering of the Sanskrit bhāṣya, pending scholar review.
This is a brief sub-gloss. For a fuller reading of this verse, see Madhusūdana, Śaṅkara, or Rāmānuja above.
Madhvacharya does not comment on this verse.
Contemporary English rendering of the Sanskrit bhāṣya, pending scholar review.