The Three Strands

परं भूयः प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञानानां ज्ञानमुत्तमम् ।
यज्ज्ञात्वा मुनयः सर्वे परां सिद्धिमितो गताः ॥1॥

The Lord said: I will tell you again the highest knowledge, best of all knowing, by which the sages went from here to the highest fulfilment.

इदं ज्ञानमुपाश्रित्य मम साधर्म्यमागताः ।
सर्गेऽपि नोपजायन्ते प्रलये न व्यथन्ति च ॥2॥

Taking refuge in this knowledge and coming to share my nature, they are not born when creation comes, nor troubled when it dissolves.

मम योनिर्महद् ब्रह्म तस्मिन्गर्भं दधाम्यहम् ।
सम्भवः सर्वभूतानां ततो भवति भारत ॥3॥

The great Brahman is my womb, Bharata; in it I place the seed, and from that all beings come to be.

सर्वयोनिषु कौन्तेय मूर्तयः सम्भवन्ति याः ।
तासां ब्रह्म महद्योनिरहं बीजप्रदः पिता ॥4॥

Whatever forms come to be in any womb, Kaunteya, the great Brahman is their womb, and I am the father who gives the seed.

सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसम्भवाः ।
निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् ॥5॥

Clarity, passion and dullness, the three qualities born of nature, bind the unfading dweller to the body, mighty-armed one.

तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम् ।
सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ ॥6॥

Of these, clarity, being clean, lights things up and is free of trouble. It binds by attachment to happiness, sinless one, and by attachment to knowledge.

रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् ।
तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम् ॥7॥

Know passion to be of the nature of longing, born of thirst and attachment, Kaunteya. It binds the dweller in the body by attachment to work.

तमस्त्वज्ञानजं विद्धि मोहनं सर्वदेहिनाम् ।
प्रमादालस्यनिद्राभिस्तन्निबध्नाति भारत ॥8॥

Know dullness to be born of not knowing, Bharata; it clouds all who dwell in bodies, and binds by heedlessness, laziness and sleep.

सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रजः कर्मणि भारत ।
ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तमः प्रमादे सञ्जयत्युत ॥9॥

Clarity attaches one to happiness, Bharata, passion to work; and dullness, covering knowledge over, attaches one to heedlessness.

रजस्तमश्चाभिभूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत ।
रजः सत्त्वं तमश्चैव तमः सत्त्वं रजस्तथा ॥10॥

Clarity rises by overcoming passion and dullness, Bharata; passion by overcoming clarity and dullness; and dullness by overcoming clarity and passion.

सर्वद्वारेषु देहेऽस्मिन्प्रकाश उपजायते ।
ज्ञानं यदा तदा विद्याद्विवृद्धं सत्त्वमित्युत ॥11॥

When the light of knowledge appears at all the gates of this body, then one may know that clarity has grown strong.

लोभः प्रवृत्तिरारम्भः कर्मणामशमः स्पृहा ।
रजस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे भरतर्षभ ॥12॥

When passion grows strong, greed arises, and bustle, the starting of enterprises, restlessness and craving, best of the Bharatas.

अप्रकाशोऽप्रवृत्तिश्च प्रमादो मोह एव च ।
तमस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे कुरुनन्दन ॥13॥

When dullness grows strong, Kurunandana, there is darkness, inactivity, heedlessness and confusion.

यदा सत्त्वे प्रवृद्धे तु प्रलयं याति देहभृत् ।
तदोत्तमविदां लोकानमलान्प्रतिपद्यते ॥14॥

When one who dwells in a body dies while clarity is strong, he reaches the clean worlds of those who know the highest.

रजसि प्रलयं गत्वा कर्मसङ्गिषु जायते ।
तथा प्रलीनस्तमसि मूढयोनिषु जायते ॥15॥

Dying while passion is strong, one is born among those attached to work; dying while dullness is strong, one is born in the wombs of the deluded.

कर्मणः सुकृतस्याहुः सात्त्विकं निर्मलं फलम् ।
रजसस्तु फलं दुःखमज्ञानं तमसः फलम् ॥16॥

The fruit of a good action is said to be clear and clean; the fruit of passion is pain, and the fruit of dullness is not knowing.

सत्त्वात्सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च ।
प्रमादमोहौ तमसो भवतोऽज्ञानमेव च ॥17॥

From clarity knowledge is born, from passion greed; and from dullness come heedlessness, confusion and ignorance.

ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः ।
जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसाः ॥18॥

Those settled in clarity go upward; the passionate stay in the middle; and the dull, caught in the workings of the lowest quality, go down.

नान्यं गुणेभ्यः कर्तारं यदा द्रष्टानुपश्यति ।
गुणेभ्यश्च परं वेत्ति मद्भावं सोऽधिगच्छति ॥19॥

When the seer sees no doer other than the qualities, and knows what lies beyond the qualities, he comes to my being.

गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान् ।
जन्ममृत्युजरादुःखैर्विमुक्तोऽमृतमश्नुते ॥20॥

Passing beyond these three qualities that arise with the body, the dweller in it is freed from birth, death, age and pain, and reaches what does not die.

कैर्लिङ्गैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो ।
किमाचारः कथं चैतांस्त्रीन्गुणानतिवर्तते ॥21॥

Arjuna said: By what marks is the one who has gone beyond the three qualities known, Lord? How does he behave, and how does he get past these three?

प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव ।
न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति ॥22॥

The Lord said: He does not hate light, or activity, or confusion when they come, Pandava, nor does he long for them when they go.

उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते ।
गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येवं योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते ॥23॥

Sitting like one with no stake in it, he is not shaken by the qualities; holding that it is only the qualities at work, he stays put and does not stir.

समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः ।
तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस्तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः ॥24॥

The same in pain and pleasure, settled in himself, seeing clod, stone and gold alike, the same towards the pleasant and unpleasant, steady, taking blame and praise of himself as one,

मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः ।
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीतः स उच्यते ॥25॥

the same in honour and dishonour, the same towards the side of friend and of foe, giving up all self-serving undertakings: such a one is said to have gone beyond the qualities.

मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते ।
स गुणान्समतीत्यैतान्ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥26॥

And one who serves me with unswerving devotion goes past these qualities and becomes fit to be Brahman.

ब्रह्मणो हि प्रतिष्ठाहममृतस्याव्ययस्य च ।
शाश्वतस्य च धर्मस्य सुखस्यैकान्तिकस्य च ॥27॥

For I am the ground of Brahman, of the deathless that does not fade, of the everlasting way, and of happiness that is beyond question.