ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये ।मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि नत्वहं तेषु ते मयि ॥
ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasāstāmasāśca ye |matta eveti tānviddhi natvahaṃ teṣu te mayi ||
Whatever states of being there are that are sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic, know that they come from me alone. Yet I am not in them; they are in me.
Explanation
Krishna is explaining to Arjuna how everything in the world depends on him. All states of being (bhāva), whether marked by clarity (sattva), restless passion (rajas) or inertia (tamas), the three gunas or strands of nature, arise from him. He says he is not bound or controlled by them, but they exist in him; commentators differ on whether this stresses his freedom from nature or his deep presence within it.