Verset 14.18

ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः ।

जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसाः ॥

14.18

Translittération

ūrdhvaṃ gacchanti sattvasthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ |

jaghanyaguṇavṛttisthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ ||

Par Sanskrit System · Brouillon automatique · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Traduction

Those who are seated in Sattva go upwards; the Rajasic dwell in the middle; and the Tamasic, abiding in the function of the lowest Guna, go downwards.

D’après la feuille du propriétaire · +1 de plus

Mot à mot

upward
go
those in sattva
in the middle
remain
the rajasic

abiding in the lowest guna
downward
go
the tamasic

Par Sanskrit System · Brouillon automatique · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explication

Krishna gives a spatial image of the qualities. Those grounded in clarity (sattva) rise upward, toward higher states and worlds. Those dominated by passion (rajas) stay in the middle, in the realm of human striving. Those living in inertia (tamas), the lowest quality, go downward. The image of up, middle and down maps the three qualities onto the traditional three levels of the cosmos. It can also be read psychologically, as describing whether a life tends toward light, remains caught in restless activity, or sinks into dullness. Either way, the qualities shape one's direction.