Bhagavad Gita BG 18.30
Chapter 18, Verse 30 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च कार्याकार्ये भयाभये । बन्धं मोक्षं च या वेत्ति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी ॥
pravrttim ca nivrttim ca karyakarye bhayabhaye bandham moksham ca ya vetti buddhih sa partha sattviki
Meaning
O Partha, the buddhi which knows engagement (pravrtti) and withdrawal (nivrtti), what should (karya) and should not (akarya) be done, fear (bhaya) and fearlessness (abhaya), bondage (bandha) and liberation (moksha) — that buddhi is sattvic.
Understanding
Sattvic buddhi is defined by its comprehensive discriminative capacity across three paired domains. Pravrtti-nivrtti (engagement and withdrawal): sattvic buddhi knows when to act, when to restrain, when to move forward, and when to step back. This is not mere rule-following but genuine wisdom about the appropriateness of action. Karya-akarya (what should be done and what should not): the complete practical ethical map. Bhaya-abhaya (fear and fearlessness): knowing what is genuinely to be feared (what threatens the soul's journey) and what is not. Bandha-moksha (bondage and liberation): the most fundamental discriminative capacity — knowing what binds and what liberates. The sattvic buddhi operates with this complete map, can navigate all four pairs. This is why it is sattvic: sattva = the quality of clarity that allows the full picture to be seen.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| प्रवृत्तिम् | pravrttim | engagement, action, going-forth (pra = forth, vrtti = activity) |
| निवृत्तिम् | nivrttim | withdrawal, non-engagement, cessation of activity (ni = back, vrtti = activity) |
| कार्याकार्ये | karyakarye | what should be done (karya) and what should not (akarya) |
| भयाभये | bhayabhaye | fear (bhaya) and fearlessness (abhaya) |
| बन्धम् | bandham | bondage, that which binds the soul |
| मोक्षम् | moksham | liberation, freedom from bondage |
| प्रवृत्तिम् | pravṛttim ca | and action |
| निवृत्तिम् | nivṛttim ca | and cessation |
| कार्य | kārya | what should be done |
| अकार्ये | akārye | what should not be done |
| भय | bhaya | fear |
| अभये | abhaye | absence of fear |
| मोक्षम् | mokṣam ca | and liberation |
| या | yā | which |
| वेत्ति | vetti | knows |
| बुद्धिः | buddhiḥ | intelligence |
| सा | sā | that |
| पार्थ | pārtha | O Arjuna |
| सात्त्विकी | sāttvikī | in goodness |