ॐ

रजस्तमश्चाभिभूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत।रजः सत्त्वं तमश्चैव तमः सत्त्वं रजस्तथा।।14.10।।

rajas tamaśh chābhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaśh chaiva tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajas tathā

Sanskrit Chant Recitation
Chapter 14, Verse 10
0:000:00

Scripture Translation Room

Sanskrit to English Translation

Translator:
Now, O Arjuna, Sattva prevails, having overpowered Rajas and Tamas; then Rajas, having overpowered Sattva and Tamas; and then Tamas, having overpowered Sattva and Rajas.

A Reading - Rantideb

Why: goodness prevails over passion and ignorance at times, passion over goodness and ignorance, and ignorance over goodness and passion, at other times, describing the three qualities as constantly competing for dominance rather than one being permanently fixed in place.

In life: your own dominant quality on any given day isn't fixed or permanent, it's actively shifting based on circumstances, rest, environment, and many other factors constantly in flux.

Teaching: stop assuming whichever quality is dominant in you right now is a permanent trait, this verse explicitly frames the three as constantly competing, meaning today's dominant state is genuinely temporary and can shift with the right conditions.

rajaḥmode of passion
tamaḥmode of ignorance
chaand
abhibhūyaprevails
sattvammode of goodness
bhavatibecomes
bhārataArjun, the son of Bharat
rajaḥmode of passion
sattvammode of goodness
tamaḥmode of ignorance
chaand
evaindeed
tamaḥmode of ignorance
sattvammode of goodness
rajaḥmode of passion
tathāalso

Deep Classical Commentary (Bhashya)

Author:
14.10 रजः Rajas? तमः inertia? च and? अभिभूय having overpowered? सत्त्वम् Sattva? भवति arises? भारत O Arjuna? रजः Rajas? सत्त्वम् Sattva? तमः inertia? च and? एव even? तमः inertia? सत्त्वम् purity? रजः active force? तथा also.Commentary Just as winter has its sway when summer and autumn have gone? just as sleep has its sway when a man is neither dreaming nor waking? so also Sattva has its sway when Rajas and Tamas are suppressed and makes people say that they are happy. The Sadhana for increasing Sattva is given in the 17th and 18th chapters.Each ality acts in its own turn at different times. All the three alities cannot operate at one and the same time. When one ality asserts itself or prdominates by overpowering or suppressing the other two? it produces its own effect. Sattva produces knowledge and happiness Rajas action Tamas veiling of knowledge? inertia? error? indolence? sloth and sleep. When Sattva is in the ascendant in a man? he is endowed with discrimination. Sublime thoughts roll in his mind. He has pure understanding. His mind turns away from sensual pleasures and moves inward towards the Self.What is the characteristic mark by which you can know that a particular ality is predominant or is in the ascendant The answer is given in the following three verses.