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.