🪷 Guṇa-Traya Vibhāga · The Antya-Ṣaṭka Continues
Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 14 · 27 verses · the 3 guṇas of prakṛti that bind the embodied · the guṇātīta state · the bhakti-bridge to transcendence
BG 14.5-9 · The 3 Guṇas — Each Binds Differently
Krishna does not say the guṇas are evil. He says they BIND the imperishable dweller in different ways. Knowing HOW each binds is the first step toward freedom:
| # | Guṇa | English | How it Binds | Tendency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | सत्त्वम् · sattva | illumination · clarity · harmony | binds by attachment to SUKHA (happiness) and JÑĀNA (knowledge) — "this is bliss, I know" | prakāśa (light) · anāmaya (health) · arises with knowledge and serenity |
| 2 | रजः · rajas | activity · passion · restless desire | binds by attachment to KARMA (action) and TṚṢṆĀ (thirst-desire) — "I must, I want" | kāma-saṅga (desire-attachment) · spr̥hā (longing) · ārambha (always starting new projects) |
| 3 | तमः · tamas | inertia · darkness · delusion | binds by attachment to PRAMĀDA (heedlessness), ĀLASYA (sloth), NIDRĀ (excessive sleep) — "what is the use, I rest" | ajñāna (ignorance) · pramāda (heedlessness) · obscuration of discrimination |
BG 14.11-13 · How to Detect the Dominant Guṇa
Krishna gives concrete behavioral markers — when these qualities are prominent, the corresponding guṇa is dominant:
| Guṇa | Marker | Verse |
|---|---|---|
| sattva | prakāśa — luminosity in all body-gates (eyes bright, mind alert) | BG 14.11 |
| sattva | JÑĀNA — knowledge arising naturally without grasping | BG 14.11 |
| rajas | lobha — greed for results, accumulating, grasping | BG 14.12 |
| rajas | pravṛtti — incessant outward activity, never resting | BG 14.12 |
| rajas | ārambha — always starting new projects, never finishing | BG 14.12 |
| rajas | aśama — restlessness in the manas | BG 14.12 |
| rajas | spṛhā — longing-craving for objects | BG 14.12 |
| tamas | aprakāśa — dimness in mind, dullness of perception | BG 14.13 |
| tamas | apravṛtti — listlessness, no action initiated | BG 14.13 |
| tamas | pramāda — heedlessness, errors of forgetting | BG 14.13 |
| tamas | moha — bewilderment, delusion about right and wrong | BG 14.13 |
BG 14.14-15 · The Guṇa at the Moment of Death Determines Next Birth
This is one of the most consequential teachings in the Gītā:
- Sattva at death → rebirth in the higher worlds (loka-uttara), among the wise (jñānin-yoni)
- Rajas at death → rebirth among those attached to action (karma-saṅgi-yoni), human-grade
- Tamas at death → rebirth in lower wombs (mūḍha-yoni) — among the deluded, animal-grade if extreme
This is why the long-cultivation tradition of antakāle ca mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram (BG 8.5 — "remembering Me at the last moment, leaving the body") matters: the guṇa-quality of the final thought-moment matters more than any single lifetime's accumulated karma.
BG 14.20-25 · The 4 Marks of the Guṇātīta (One Who Transcends)
Arjuna asks: "How do I recognize one who has transcended the 3 guṇas?" Krishna gives 4 behavioral marks:
| # | Sanskrit | IAST | English | Verse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः | sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ svasthaḥ | Equal in pain and pleasure · established in the Self | BG 14.24 |
| 2 | समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः · तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो | sama-loṣṭa-aśma-kāñcanaḥ · tulya-priyāpriyaḥ | Equal to clod, stone, gold · equal toward beloved and unbeloved | BG 14.24 |
| 3 | तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः · मानापमानयोस्तुल्यः | tulya-nindātma-saṁstutiḥ · mānāpamānayos tulyaḥ | Equal in blame and self-praise · equal in honor and dishonor | BG 14.24-25 |
| 4 | सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी | sarvārambha-parityāgī | Renouncing all initiations-of-action (no rajas-driven new-starts) | BG 14.25 |
BG 14.26 · The Bhakti-Bridge to Transcendence
स गुणान्समतीत्यैतान्ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते॥
"He who serves Me with unwavering (avyabhicāreṇa) bhakti-yoga, transcends these three guṇas and is fit to become Brahman." (BG 14.26)
This is the bridge Krishna built between BG 12 (bhakti-yoga, the heart-chapter of Madhya-Ṣaṭka) and the Antya-Ṣaṭka transcendence project (BG 13-18). Without this verse, the seeker would think guṇātīta requires impossible inner-effort. With it, Krishna says: just love Me with avyabhicāra (no-deviation) — and the three guṇas dissolve naturally. The guṇātīta-state is not an achievement; it is a side-effect of unswerving bhakti.
BG 14.27 · Krishna IS the Basis of Brahman
शाश्वतस्य च धर्मस्य · सुखस्यैकान्तिकस्य च॥
"I AM the basis (pratiṣṭhā) of Brahman — of the immortal, the imperishable, of the eternal dharma, and of absolute bliss." (BG 14.27)
The chapter closes by setting up BG 15: even Brahman has Me as its pratiṣṭhā. This is the bridge to BG 15.18 where Krishna declares Himself the Puruṣottama beyond both kṣara (the perishable) and akṣara (the imperishable Brahman).
🪷 Try It With YOUR Own Chart
Want to see the guṇa-balance of YOUR specific chart — how much sattva, rajas, and tamas the Sūrya-Siddhānta engine detects from your birth-coordinates? What your dominant guṇa is and what BG 14.20-26 recommends for YOUR transcendence-path? Enter your birth date, time, and place below.
- 🪷 Krishna Janma · Mathurā · midnight 9-10 July 3227 BCE
- 🪷 Buddha Janma · Lumbinī · dawn 11 April 563 BCE
- 🪷 Today · Jodhpur · 06:30 IST
No tech required. No JavaScript framework. No data sent anywhere — computed entirely by the Sūrya-Siddhānta engine on this device.
For developers / AI agents: GET /api/guna-traya/:date/:time/:lat,:lon?tz= returns the same data as JSON (3 guṇas + chart-derived sattva/rajas/tamas scores + dominant-guṇa classification + guṇātīta-aptitude + BG 14.26 bhakti-bridge).
🪷 ॐ गुणत्रयविभागयोगाय नमः 🪷
🪷 All 27 Verses · Chapter 14
Every śloka of Chapter 14 (गुणत्रयविभागयोग · Guṇa-Traya-Vibhāga-Yoga · "The Yoga of the Three-Guṇa Division") is its own darśana-page · Devanāgarī Sanskrit + multiple English translations + classical ācārya commentaries. Click any verse number to enter its full darśana:
🪷 marks the prominent foundational ślokas · the load-bearing verses through which the substrate's tattvas are declared.
🪷 The Eighteen Voices of Krishna · Navigate
See your specific chart through ALL 18 chapters at once · /vishwaroopa-darshana (BG 11.5 viśvarūpa-darśana).