तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम् ।
सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ ॥
सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
हे पापरहित अर्जुन उन गुणोंमें सत्त्वगुण निर्मल स्वच्छ होनेके कारण प्रकाशक और निर्विकार है । वह सुख और ज्ञानकी आसक्तिसे देहीको बाँधता है ॥
English
Among those qualities, sattva—because it is pure and luminous and free from affliction—binds the embodied being through attachment to happiness and to knowledge, O sinless one.
What this verse means
Even purity can become a chain when you cling to comfort or to being wise. Sattva brings light, but attachment to that light still binds.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, with Arjuna frozen before battle, Krishna explains the three gunas. After naming sattva as pure and illuminating, he shows the hidden trap: even clarity can bind when a person becomes attached to comfort or to the pride of understanding.
Why this verse still matters
You finally feel calm after weeks of stress, then panic at the thought of losing that calm. You start guarding the feeling instead of living. The grip has simply changed shape.
The takeaway
It warns that even good states can trap you when you start clinging to them.
Word-by-word translation
तत्र (there, among them) / सत्त्वम् (sattva) / निर्मलत्वात् (because of purity) / प्रकाशकम् (luminous, illuminating) / अनामयम् (free from affliction) / सुखसङ्गेन (through attachment to happiness) / बध्नाति (binds) / ज्ञानसङ्गेन (through attachment to knowledge) / च (and) / अनघ (O sinless one)
This verse is part of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14: Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga — The Three Modes of Material Nature, which contains 27 verses.
Explore related themes: gunas (47 verses), sattva (26 verses)