भक्षितं शलभैः सर्वं निराशश्च कृतः पुनः । तद्वत्तीर्थश्रमः पुत्र कष्टदो न फलप्रदः
If all is eaten by locusts and he is left hopeless again, in the same way, O son, the hardship of pilgrimage brings pain but not reward.
सत्त्वं समुत्कटं जातं प्रवृद्धं शास्त्रदर्शनात् । वैराग्यं तत्फलं जातं तामसार्थेषु नारद
When sattva becomes strong and grows through the study of scripture, then, O Nārada, its fruit is detachment from objects born of darkness.
प्रसह्याभिभवत्येव तद्रजस्तमसी उभे । रजः समुत्कटं जातं प्रवृत्तं लोभयोगतः
That sattva forcefully overcomes both rajas and tamas; when rajas becomes strong, it arises through association with greed.
तत्तथाभिभवत्येव तमःसत्त्वे तथा उभे । तमस्तथोत्कटं भूत्वा प्रवृद्धं मोहयोगतः
Then it likewise overcomes both tamas and sattva; and when tamas becomes intense and grows through delusion, it prevails.
तत्सत्त्वरजसी चोभे सङ्गम्याभिभवत्यपि । विस्तरं कथयाम्यद्य यथाभिभवतीति वै
That tamas, joining with both sattva and rajas, also overcomes them; today I will explain in detail how this overcoming takes place.
यदा सत्त्वं प्रवृद्धं वै मतिर्धर्मे स्थिता तदा । न चिन्तयति बाह्यार्थं रजस्तमःसमुद्भवम्
When sattva increases and the mind is established in dharma, then it does not consider external objects arising from rajas and tamas.
अर्थं सत्त्वसमुद्भूतं गृह्णाति च न चान्यथा । अनायासकृतं चार्थं धर्मं यज्ञं च वाञ्छति
It accepts only that which arises from sattva, and not otherwise; it desires actions, dharma, and sacrifice that are accomplished without strain.
सात्त्विकेष्वेव भोगेषु कामं वै कुरुते तदा । राजसेषु न मोक्षार्थं तामसेषु पुनः कुतः
At that time, it seeks enjoyment only in sattvic pleasures; not in rajasic ones for the sake of liberation, and certainly not in tamasic ones.
एवं जित्वा रजः पूर्वं ततश्च तमसो जयः । सत्त्वं च केवलं पुत्र तदा भवति निर्मलम्
Thus, having conquered rajas first and then tamas, only sattva remains, O son, and then it becomes pure.
यदा रजः प्रवृद्धं वै त्यक्त्वा धर्मान् सनातनान् । अन्यथाकुरुते धर्माच्छ्रद्धां प्राप्य तु राजसीम्
When rajas increases, abandoning the eternal dharmas, one acts otherwise, having attained rajasic faith instead of dharma.
राजसादर्थसंवृद्धिस्तथा भोगस्तु राजसः । सत्त्वं विनिर्गतं तेन तमसश्चापि निग्रहः
From rajas comes the increase of wealth, and enjoyment is also rajasic; by this, sattva departs, and tamas is also restrained.
यदा तमो विवृद्धं स्यादुत्कटं सम्बभूव ह । तदा वेदे न विश्वासो धर्मशास्त्रे तथैव च
When tamas grows and becomes intense, then there is no faith in the Veda, nor in the scriptures of dharma.
श्रद्धां च तामसीं प्राप्य करोति च धनात्ययम् । द्रोहं सर्वत्र कुरुते न शान्तिमधिगच्छति
Having acquired faith of the tamasic kind, he brings about the loss of wealth; he acts with hostility everywhere and does not attain peace.
जित्वा सत्त्वं रजश्चैव क्रोधनो दुर्मतिः शठः । वर्तते कामचारेण भावेषु विततेषु च
Having subdued sattva and rajas, he, being angry, of poor intellect, and deceitful, acts according to desire in various states.
एकं सत्त्वं न भवति रजश्चैकं तमस्तथा । सहैवाश्रित्य वर्तन्ते गुणा मिथुनधर्मिणः
There is never only one: neither sattva alone, nor rajas alone, nor tamas alone; the qualities always act together, possessing a dual nature.
रजो विना न सत्त्वं स्याद्रजः सत्त्वं विना क्वचित् । तमो विना न चैवैते वर्तन्ते पुरुषर्षभ
Without rajas, sattva does not exist; and rajas never exists without sattva; without tamas, neither of these are found, O best among men.
तमस्ताभ्यां विहीनं तु केवलं न कदाचन । सर्वे मिथुनधर्माणो गुणाः कार्यान्तरेषु वै
Tamas, devoid of the other two, is never found alone; all the qualities are of dual nature in their various functions.
अन्योन्यसंश्रिताः सर्वे तिष्ठन्ति न वियोजिताः । अन्योन्यजनकाश्चैव यतः प्रसवधर्मिणः
All exist mutually dependent, never separated; and each generates the other, for they are of the nature of production.
सत्त्वं कदाचिच्च रजस्तमसी जनयत्युत । कदाचित्तु रजः सत्त्वतमसी जनयत्यपि
Sometimes sattva produces rajas and tamas; sometimes rajas produces sattva and tamas as well.
कदाचित्तु तमः सत्त्वरजसी जनयत्युभे । जनयन्त्येवमन्योन्यं मृत्पिण्डश्च घटं यथा
Sometimes tamas produces both sattva and rajas; thus they generate each other, just as a lump of clay produces a pot.
बुद्धिस्थास्ते गुणाः कामान्बोधयन्ति परस्परम् । देवदत्तविष्णुमित्रयज्ञदत्तादयो यथा
These qualities, established in the intellect, awaken desires and influence each other, just as Devadatta, Vishnumitra, Yajnadatta, and others do.
यथा स्त्रीपुरुषश्चैव मिथुनौ च परस्परम् । तथा गुणाः समायान्ति युग्मभावं परस्परम्
Just as woman and man form a pair together, so too the qualities unite, entering into a dual state with each other.
रजसो मिथुने सत्त्वं सत्त्वस्य मिथुने रजः । उभे ते सत्त्वरजसी तमसो मिथुने विदुः
In the pairing of rajas, sattva is present; in the pairing of sattva, rajas is present; both sattva and rajas are known to be present in the pairing of tamas.
नारद उवाच इत्येतत्कथितं पित्रा गुणरूपमनुत्तमम् । श्रुत्वाप्येतत्स एवाहं ततोऽपृच्छं पितामहम्
Narada said: Thus, this supreme nature of the qualities was described by my father; even after hearing this, I asked the grandsire again.
गुणानां गुणपरिज्ञानवर्णनम् नारद उवाच गुणानां लक्षणं तात भवता कथितं किल । न तृप्तोऽस्मि पिबन्मिष्टं त्वन्मुखात्प्रच्युतं रसम्
Narada said: Father, you have indeed described the characteristics of the qualities; yet I am not satisfied, for I drink the nectar flowing from your mouth.
गुणानां तु परिज्ञानं यथावदनुवर्णय । येनाहं परमां शान्तिमधिगच्छामि चेतसि
Please describe in detail the discernment of the qualities, by which I may attain supreme peace in my mind.
व्यास उवाच इति पृष्टस्तु पुत्रेण नारदेन महात्मना । उवाच च जगत्कर्ता रजोगुणसमुद्भवः
Vyasa said: Thus questioned by his son Narada, the great soul, the creator of the world, born of the quality of rajas, spoke.
ब्रह्मोवाच शृणु नारद वक्ष्यामि गुणानां परिवर्णनम् । सम्यङ् नाहं विजानामि यथामति वदामि ते
Brahma said: Listen, Narada, I will explain the description of the qualities; I do not fully know, but I will tell you as best as I understand.
सत्त्वं तु केवलं नैव कुत्रापि परिलक्ष्यते । मिश्रीभावात्तु तेषां वै मिश्रत्वं प्रतिभाति वै
Sattva alone is never observed anywhere; because of their mixed nature, only their mixture is perceived.
यथा काचिद्वरा नारी सर्वभूषणभूषिता । हावभावयुता कामं भर्तुः प्रीतिकरी भवेत्
Just as a noble woman, adorned with all ornaments, full of charm and feeling, may become pleasing to her husband.