Tatra sattvam nirmalatvat prakasakam anamayam, sukha-sangena badhnati jnana-sangena chanagha
O sinless one, sattva (goodness), because of its purity, is illuminating and free from disease. It conditions the soul by binding it to happiness and knowledge. Even the mode of goodness is a binding force — its subtle attachment to happiness and knowledge must ultimately be transcended.
- •Sattva is pure, luminous, and free from disease
- •Even goodness binds the soul through attachment to happiness
- •Sattva's attachment to knowledge is its specific binding quality
Rajo ragatmakam viddhi trishna-sanga-samudbhavam, tan nibadhnati kaunteya karma-sangena dehinam
Know that rajas (passion) is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kunti. Because of this quality, the living entity is bound to material action. Rajas drives restless activity through insatiable craving, keeping the soul perpetually bound to results.
- •Rajas arises from desire and longing
- •The mode of passion binds through compulsive action
- •Rajas is the root of restlessness and craving
Tamas tv ajnana-jam viddhi mohanam sarva-dehinam, pramadalasya-nidraabhis tan nibadhnati bharata
Know that tamas (ignorance) is born from ignorance and deludes all embodied beings. It binds by carelessness, laziness, and sleep, O Arjuna. Tamas is the grossest mode — it covers the light of awareness entirely with inertia and delusion.
- •Tamas arises from ignorance and delusion
- •The mode of ignorance binds through laziness and sleep
- •Tamas is the greatest obstacle to spiritual progress