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कर्मणः सुकृतस्याहुः सात्त्विकं निर्मलं फलम्।रजसस्तु फलं दुःखमज्ञानं तमसः फलम्।।14.16।।

karmaṇaḥ sukṛitasyāhuḥ sāttvikaṁ nirmalaṁ phalam rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham ajñānaṁ tamasaḥ phalam

Sanskrit Chant Recitation
Chapter 14, Verse 16
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Scripture Translation Room

Sanskrit to English Translation

Translator:
They say that the fruit of good action is Sattvic and pure; indeed, the fruit of Rajas is pain, and the fruit of Tamas is ignorance.

A Reading - Rantideb

Why: the fruit of good action is said to be pure and of the nature of goodness, the fruit of passionate action is pain, the fruit of ignorant action is delusion, again mapping specific outcomes to each quality's characteristic action.

In life: the same amount of effort invested produces very different quality outcomes depending on which quality was actually driving the effort, clear intention versus restless craving versus confused inertia.

Teaching: before investing significant effort into something, check honestly which quality is actually driving the effort, that check matters more for predicting the eventual outcome than the sheer amount of effort itself.

karmaṇaḥof action
su-kṛitasyapure
āhuḥis said
sāttvikammode of goodness
nirmalampure
phalamresult
rajasaḥmode of passion
tuindeed
phalamresult
duḥkhampain
ajñānamignorance
tamasaḥmode of ignorance
phalamresult

Deep Classical Commentary (Bhashya)

Author:
14.16 कर्मणः of action? सुकृतस्य (of) good? आहुः (they) say? सात्त्विकम् Sattvic? निर्मलम् pure? फलम् the fruit? रजसः of Rajas? तु verily? फलम् the fruit? दुःखम् pain? अज्ञानम् ignorance? तमसः of inertia? फलम् the fruit.Commentary Good action Sattvic action. The fruit of good action is both happiness and,knowledge.They The wise.Rajas means Rajasic action as this verse deals with action. The fruit of Rajasic action is bitter. Rajasic action brings pain? disappointment and dissatisfaction. Rajasic activity leads to greed. When the Rajasic man tries to gratify his original desires? new desires crop up. This opens the door to greed.Tamas Tamasic action? unrighteous deeds or sin (Adharma). There is no knowledge within and no foresight.