Bhagavad Gita BG 14.18
Chapter 14, Verse 18 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः । जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसाः ॥
urdhvam gacchanti sattva-stha madhye tishthanti rajasah jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha adho gacchanti tamasah
Meaning
Those established in sattva go upward; the rajasic remain in the middle; those situated in the lowest quality (tamas) go downward.
Understanding
The cosmological hierarchy of guna-destinations: urdhvam gacchanti sattva-stha (those established in sattva go upward — urdhva = up, toward the higher worlds, toward liberation). Madhye tishthanti rajasah (the rajasic remain in the middle — human worlds of continued action-and-striving). Jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha (those whose life-activity is dominated by the lowest quality — tamas). Adho gacchanti tamasah (the tamasic go downward — toward lower, more unconscious states of existence). This is not moral judgment but a description of the natural direction each guna takes: clarity rises; passion stabilizes in the middle; inertia and delusion descend.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ऊर्ध्वम् | urdhvam | upward, toward higher states |
| सत्त्वस्था | sattva-stha | established in sattva, situated in clarity |
| मध्ये | madhye | in the middle — the intermediate realm |
| जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था | jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha | those whose activity is in the lowest guna (tamas) |
| अधः | adhah | downward, toward lower states |
| ऊर्ध्वम् | ūrdhvam | upward |
| गच्छन्ति | gacchanti | they go |
| सत्त्व-स्थाः | sattva-sthāḥ | those situated in goodness |
| तिष्ठन्ति | tiṣṭhanti | they remain |
| रजसः | rajasaḥ | those in passion |
| जघन्य-गुण-वृत्ति-स्थाः | jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthāḥ | those abiding in the lowest mode |
| अधः | adhaḥ | downward |
| गच्छन्ति | gacchanti | they go |
| तमसः | tamasaḥ | those in ignorance |
📖 Learn "Transcending the Gunas: Rising, Liberation, and Arjuna's Question" →