Bhagavad Gita · Gunatraya Vibhaga YogaChapter 14, Shloka 18 (14.18)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः
जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसाः
॥ 14.18 ॥
ūrdhvaṃ gacchanti sattvasthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ
jaghanyaguṇavṛttisthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ
Translation
"Those established in sattva go upward, those of rajas stay in the middle; and those of tamas, abiding in the ways of the lowest guna (tamas), go downward."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. ūrdhvaṃ gacchanti devalokādiṣu utpadyante sattvasthāḥ … madhye tiṣṭhanti manuṣyeṣu utpadyante rājasāḥ; jaghanyaguṇaḥ tamaḥ, tasya vṛttaṃ nidrālasyādi — the lowest guna is tamas, and its ways are sleep, laziness and the like.
Acharya Ramanuja — a different reading. sattvasthā ūrdhvaṃ gacchanti krameṇa saṃsārabandhāt mokṣaṃ gacchanti — those of sattva move step by step from the bondage of samsara towards liberation; those of rajas act for results, experience the results, and are born again (in the cycle).
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.