Bhagavad Gita BG 17.3
Chapter 17, Verse 3 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
सत्त्वानुरूपा सर्वस्य श्रद्धा भवति भारत । श्रद्धामयोऽयं पुरुषो यो यच्छ्रद्धः स एव सः ॥
sattvanurupa sarvasya shraddhA bhavati bharata shraddhAmayo 'yam purusho yo yac-chhraddhah sa eva sah
Meaning
The faith of every person is in accordance with their nature (sattva). A person consists of their faith — whatever their faith, that indeed is what they are.
Understanding
This is one of the most psychologically penetrating verses of the entire Gita. Sattvanurupa (in accordance with one's sattva/nature): the word 'sattva' here means one's innate constitution — the dominant guna-mixture. Your shraddha perfectly mirrors your inner nature. Shraddhamayo ayam purushah (a person is made of their shraddha — is constituted by their faith): not a container that has faith, but a being whose essence is their faith. Yo yac-chhraddhah sa eva sah (whatever their faith, that is exactly what they are): the most compressed psychological definition in the Gita. You are your deepest trust, your deepest commitment, what you fundamentally believe in. This also explains why changing one's shraddha is transformative: it is a change of self.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| सत्त्वानुरूपा | sattvanurupa | in accordance with one's nature/constitution |
| श्रद्धामयः | shraddhAmayah | constituted of faith, made of shraddha |
| पुरुषः | purushah | person, the self, the individual being |
| यच्छ्रद्धः | yac-chhraddhah | whose faith is whatever (yat = whatever, shraddhah = faith) |
| स एव सः | sa eva sah | that is exactly what he/she is — the strongest identification |
| सत्त्व-अनुरूपा | sattva-anurūpā | in accordance with one's nature |
| सर्वस्य | sarvasya | of everyone |
| श्रद्धा | śraddhā | faith |
| भवति | bhavati | is |
| भारत | bhārata | O Arjuna |
| श्रद्धा-मयः | śraddhā-mayaḥ | made of faith |
| अयम् | ayam | this |
| पुरुषः | puruṣaḥ | person |
| यः | yaḥ | whoever |
| यत्-श्रद्धः | yat-śraddhaḥ | whose faith is as |
| सः | saḥ eva saḥ | he is indeed that |