{
  "chapter": 14,
  "lang": "en",
  "verses": [
    {
      "id": "14.1",
      "translation": "I will once more declare the supreme knowledge, the best of all knowledge, by knowing which all the sages have gone from here to the highest perfection.",
      "explanation": "Krishna opens chapter 14 by announcing a teaching he calls the best of all knowledge (jñāna). It is about how the three qualities of nature (guṇa) bind and free a person, and sages are said to have reached the highest perfection (siddhi) through it. The phrase \"once more\" (bhūyaḥ) points back to themes from earlier chapters, especially chapter 13."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.2",
      "translation": "Those who rely on this knowledge and come to share my own nature are not born again at the time of creation, nor are they shaken at the time of dissolution.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is continuing his promise to teach the highest knowledge (jñāna), the knowledge that brought sages to perfection. Here he says that those who take refuge in it attain likeness to his nature (sādharmya). Such people are free from the cycle of rebirth at creation and are not troubled when the world dissolves. Traditions differ on whether this likeness means sharing his qualities while remaining distinct, or complete oneness with him."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.3",
      "translation": "The great Brahman is my womb; in it I place the seed. From that, O descendant of Bharata, the birth of all beings comes about.",
      "explanation": "Krishna explains to Arjuna how the world comes to be. Here \"great Brahman\" (mahad brahma) is usually understood as the vast primal nature (prakṛti), the womb-like source of matter, and Krishna is the one who places the seed of life in it. Commentators differ on details: some take this Brahman as the unmanifest material nature, others as a broader cosmic principle, but all agree that creation arises from Krishna's will working through it."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.4",
      "translation": "O son of Kunti, whatever forms arise in any womb, the great Brahman is the womb of them all, and I am the father who gives the seed.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues explaining how all beings come to be. Here the \"great Brahman\" (mahad brahma) is the womb, usually understood as primal nature (prakṛti), the source of all material forms, while Krishna is the father who gives the seed of life. Commentators differ on whether Brahman here means prakṛti, as in Vaishnava and many Advaita readings, or the undifferentiated cause of the world more broadly."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.5",
      "translation": "Sattva, rajas and tamas — these are the gunas born of nature. O mighty-armed one, they bind the imperishable embodied self within the body.",
      "explanation": "Krishna begins explaining the three qualities (guṇa) of nature (prakṛti): clarity or goodness (sattva), passion or activity (rajas), and inertia or darkness (tamas). He says they arise from nature, not from the self, yet they bind the changeless embodied self (dehin) to the body. Traditions differ on how real this binding is: some Vedanta readings see it as only apparent, others as a real condition of embodied life."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.6",
      "translation": "Among these, sattva, being pure, is luminous and free from affliction. It binds, O sinless one, through attachment to happiness and attachment to knowledge.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is explaining to Arjuna how the three qualities of nature (guṇa) bind the embodied self. Sattva (goodness, clarity) is pure, so it lights things up and is free from affliction (anāmaya). Yet it still binds, because one becomes attached (saṅga) to the happiness and the knowledge it brings. Commentators differ on whether \"knowledge\" here means ordinary understanding or a subtle sense of being wise, but all agree it is still bondage."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.7",
      "translation": "Know that rajas is of the nature of passion, born from craving and attachment. It binds the embodied one, O son of Kunti, through attachment to action.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is explaining to Arjuna how the three qualities of nature (guṇa) bind the embodied self. Here he describes rajas, the energetic, restless quality, as rooted in craving (tṛṣṇā) and attachment (saṅga). It ties a person to action by making them cling to doing and to its results."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.8",
      "translation": "But know that tamas is born of ignorance, and it deludes all embodied beings. It binds them, O descendant of Bharata, through negligence, laziness and sleep.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is describing the three qualities (guṇa) of nature that bind the soul. After sattva and rajas, he turns to tamas, the quality of darkness and inertia, which arises from ignorance (ajñāna) and clouds the mind. It ties a person down through negligence (pramāda), laziness (ālasya) and excess sleep (nidrā)."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.9",
      "translation": "Sattva binds one to happiness, O descendant of Bharata, and rajas binds one to action. But tamas, by veiling knowledge, binds one to negligence.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is explaining how the three qualities of nature (guṇa) each tie the embodied self in a different way. Sattva (clarity, goodness) attaches one to happiness (sukha), rajas (passion, restless energy) to action (karma), and tamas (inertia, darkness) covers over knowledge and leads to negligence or heedlessness (pramāda). The verse sets up the next one, which says that each guna at times overpowers the other two."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.10",
      "translation": "Sattva comes to prevail, O descendant of Bharata, by overpowering rajas and tamas. Rajas prevails by overpowering sattva and tamas, and in the same way tamas prevails by overpowering sattva and rajas.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is explaining to Arjuna how the three qualities of nature (guṇa) work. Every person has all three: sattva (clarity, goodness), rajas (restless activity) and tamas (dullness, inertia). At any moment one of them overpowers the other two and shapes our mood and behavior, so the balance keeps shifting."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.11",
      "translation": "When the light of knowing arises in all the gates of this body, then one should understand that sattva has grown strong.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is describing to Arjuna how to recognize each of the three qualities of nature (guṇa) in oneself. Here the sign of sattva (clarity, goodness) is illumination and knowing that shows up through all the \"gates\" of the body, which commonly means the senses and the mind's faculties of perception. Commentators differ on whether this knowing is ordinary clear awareness or a step toward spiritual insight, but all agree it marks sattva's strength."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.12",
      "translation": "Greed, restless activity, the undertaking of actions, unrest and craving — these arise when rajas grows strong, O best of the Bharatas.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the three qualities (gunas) of nature. After the signs of sattva (clarity, goodness), he lists the signs of rajas, the quality of passion and drive: greed (lobha), restless striving (pravṛtti), starting new projects, inner unrest (aśama) and craving (spṛhā). He addresses Arjuna as 'best of the Bharatas' (Bharatarshabha)."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.13",
      "translation": "Darkness, inactivity, negligence and delusion — these arise when tamas grows strong, O joy of the Kurus.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is describing how the three qualities of nature (guṇas) show up in a person. Here he names the signs of tamas, the quality of inertia and darkness: dullness of understanding (aprakāśa), idleness (apravṛtti), carelessness (pramāda) and delusion (moha). Arjuna is addressed as \"joy of the Kurus\" (Kurunandana)."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.14",
      "translation": "When an embodied being meets death while sattva is predominant, it then attains the spotless worlds of those who know the highest.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is describing to Arjuna what happens after death, depending on which of the three qualities (guṇa) of nature is strongest in a person. Here, if sattva (clarity, goodness) is dominant at death, the embodied soul reaches pure realms of those who know the highest truths. Commentators differ on whether these \"worlds\" are heavenly states or a stage of purified awareness on the way to liberation."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.15",
      "translation": "Dying when rajas prevails, one is born among those attached to action; and likewise, dying when tamas prevails, one is born in the wombs of the deluded.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing what happens at death, according to which guna (quality of nature) is dominant. Here, one who dies when rajas (restless, driven energy) prevails is reborn among people attached to action (karma-saṅgin), and one who dies in tamas (inertia, dullness) is reborn in deluded or unconscious forms of life (mūḍha-yoni). Traditions differ on whether \"deluded wombs\" means animal births or simply states of deep ignorance among humans."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.16",
      "translation": "They say the fruit of a well-done action is sattvic and pure; but the fruit of rajas is suffering, and the fruit of tamas is ignorance.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is explaining to Arjuna how the three qualities of nature (guṇas) shape the results of what we do. Sattva (goodness, clarity) brings a pure result, rajas (restless passion) brings suffering, and tamas (inertia, dullness) brings ignorance (ajñāna). Commentators differ on whether \"well-done action\" (sukṛta) means righteous deeds in general or action done in a sattvic spirit, but all agree the verse links each quality to its typical outcome."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.17",
      "translation": "From sattva arises knowledge; from rajas, greed; from tamas arise carelessness and delusion, and ignorance as well.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues explaining the three qualities of nature (gunas) to Arjuna, now naming what each one produces in the mind. Sattva (clarity, balance) gives rise to knowledge (jñāna); rajas (restless energy) gives rise to greed (lobha); tamas (inertia, dullness) gives rise to carelessness (pramāda), delusion (moha) and ignorance (ajñāna)."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.18",
      "translation": "Those established in sattva go upward; those of rajas stay in the middle; and those of tamas, caught up in the workings of the lowest guna, go downward.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues describing the three qualities of nature (gunas): sattva (clarity, goodness), rajas (passion, restlessness) and tamas (inertia, dullness). Here he says where each tendency leads: upward to higher states, to a middle state such as the human world, or downward to lower ones. Traditions differ on whether this speaks of rebirth after death, of inner states in this life, or both."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.19",
      "translation": "When the seer perceives no agent other than the gunas, and knows what stands beyond the gunas, he attains my own being.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just described where beings of each guṇa (strand of nature: sattva, rajas, tamas) end up. Now he says that real insight is seeing that all action is carried out by the guṇas, and that the self (the witness) is distinct from them. One who knows this reaches Krishna's own state (madbhāva). Traditions differ on what this state is: Advaita reads it as oneness with the Absolute, while devotional schools read it as sharing in Krishna's divine nature while remaining his devotee."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.20",
      "translation": "Having gone beyond these three gunas, from which the body arises, the embodied one is freed from birth, death, old age and sorrow, and attains immortality.",
      "explanation": "Krishna continues his teaching to Arjuna on the three qualities of nature (guṇa): sattva, rajas and tamas, which together make up the body and mind. Someone who rises above them is released from the cycle of birth, death, aging and suffering, and reaches immortality (amṛta). Traditions differ on what this means: Advaita reads it as liberation through knowing the Self, while devotional schools stress that it comes through closeness to God."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.21",
      "translation": "By what marks, O Lord, is one who has gone beyond these three gunas recognized? How does such a person behave, and how does he pass beyond these three gunas?",
      "explanation": "Arjuna has just heard that an embodied being who rises above the three qualities of nature (guṇa) — clarity, restlessness and inertia — is freed from birth, death, old age and sorrow. Here he asks three practical questions: by what marks (liṅga) such a person can be recognized, how he behaves (ācāra), and how one actually gets beyond the gunas. Krishna's answer begins in the next verse."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.22",
      "translation": "O son of Pandu, he does not hate illumination, activity, or even delusion when they appear, nor does he long for them when they cease.",
      "explanation": "Krishna begins answering Arjuna's question about the signs of one who has gone beyond the three qualities of nature (guṇa). Illumination (prakāśa), activity (pravṛtti) and delusion (moha) are the typical effects of sattva, rajas and tamas. The person beyond the gunas neither resents them when they arise nor craves them when they fade. Traditions differ on whether this describes a living liberated person (jīvanmukta) or a path to be practiced, and the verse itself does not settle that."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.23",
      "translation": "He who sits like one unconcerned and is not shaken by the gunas, who stands firm and does not waver, knowing that \"it is only the gunas that are acting\"…",
      "explanation": "Arjuna has asked how one who has gone beyond the three gunas (guṇa, the qualities of nature: clarity, activity and inertia) lives and acts. Krishna describes such a person as seeming detached, like a bystander, because he sees that the gunas are what operate, and so he stays steady. Traditions differ on whether this means actions continue without a sense of doership, or that the person withdraws from action. The verse itself only describes inner steadiness."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.24",
      "translation": "Equal in pain and pleasure, rooted in the self, regarding a clod of earth, a stone and gold alike; the same toward the dear and the unwelcome, steadfast, and the same toward blame and praise of himself…",
      "explanation": "Krishna is answering Arjuna's question about the marks of one who has gone beyond the three gunas (guṇātīta), the qualities of nature that shape mind and action. This verse and the next describe such a person: balanced in pain and pleasure, the dear and the unwelcome, praise and blame, and seeing a clod of earth, a stone and gold as alike. \"Rooted in the self\" (svastha) can also be read as \"at ease within oneself\"; the sentence continues into the next verse."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.25",
      "translation": "The same in honor and dishonor, the same toward the side of friends and the side of enemies, giving up every undertaking — such a person is said to have gone beyond the gunas.",
      "explanation": "Krishna is answering Arjuna's question about the marks of a person who has gone beyond the three gunas (guṇa, the qualities of nature: clarity, passion and inertia). This verse completes the list: such a person stays even-minded in honor and insult, and among friends and foes. \"Giving up every undertaking\" (sarvārambha-parityāga) is usually read as giving up self-centered projects and the sense of being the doer, not as ceasing to act at all."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.26",
      "translation": "And the one who serves me with unwavering yoga of devotion goes beyond these gunas and becomes fit to become Brahman.",
      "explanation": "Krishna has just described the person who has gone beyond the three qualities of nature, the gunas (guṇa). Here he adds the means: steady devotion (bhakti-yoga) to him, without wavering (avyabhicāra). Such a person is said to become fit for the state of Brahman (brahma-bhūya). Traditions differ on this: some read it as merging into the impersonal absolute, others as sharing in Brahman's nature while staying a devotee."
    },
    {
      "id": "14.27",
      "translation": "For I am the foundation of Brahman — the immortal and imperishable — and of eternal dharma and of absolute happiness.",
      "explanation": "Krishna ends the chapter on the three gunas (the qualities of nature) by explaining why devotion to him takes a person beyond them. He says he is the ground (pratiṣṭhā) of Brahman — immortal and imperishable — of lasting dharma (the order that upholds life) and of complete happiness (sukha). Traditions differ on \"Brahman\" here: Advaita often reads it as the impersonal absolute that rests in Krishna's true nature, while devotional schools read Krishna as the supreme source of which Brahman is an aspect."
    }
  ]
}