सत्त्वात् सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च । प्रमादमोहौ तमसो भवतोऽज्ञानम् एव च ॥
sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṃ rajaso lobha eva ca | pramāda-mohau tamaso bhavato'jñānam eva ca ||
Sattva begets wisdom; rajas begets greed; tamas begets heedlessness, delusion, and ignorance.
Word by word (3)
- sattvāt sañjāyate jñānam
- — from sattva arises (sañjāyate = is born) wisdom/knowledge (jñāna)
- rajasaḥ lobhaḥ eva ca
- — and from rajas (arises) greed/avarice (lobha) — the core product of rājasic consciousness
- pramāda-mohau tamasaḥ bhavataḥ ajñānam eva ca
- — from tamas arise heedlessness (pramāda) and delusion (moha), and also ignorance (ajñāna) — the threefold product of tamas
From sattva arises jñāna (wisdom and discrimination). From rajas arises lobha (greed). From tamas arise pramāda (heedlessness), moha (delusion), and ajñāna (ignorance).
A modern analogy
Three types of soil: sattvic soil grows wisdom (the rarest and most nourishing fruit). Rajasic soil grows greed (an edible-looking fruit that gives no real nourishment — always needing more). Tamasic soil grows fog, confusion, and darkness — not even a fruit, just an absence of light.
V17 is the PSYCHOLOGICAL FRUIT verse — what each guṇa produces in the inner world (as distinct from V16's karmic fruit). The three products: jñāna (sattva's illuminating faculty), lobha (rajas's insatiable desire), and the tamas-trio of pramāda-moha-ajñāna (three stages of psychological darkness). Understanding this helps the seeker diagnose their inner state: what am I producing today — clarity, craving, or confusion?
The sattva-jñāna connection is fundamental: sattva IS the guṇa of illumination, so what it produces is discriminative wisdom. The rajas-lobha connection reflects the internal dynamic of rajas: rāga (passion) generates tṛṣṇā (thirst) which produces lobha (greed). The tamas-trio is a graded descent: pramāda (carelessness about reality) → moha (active delusion about reality) → ajñāna (complete nescience — the deepest darkness).
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
[Truncated in index] From Sattva arises wisdom, and greed (from Rajas; from Tamas arise heedlessness and delusion and ignorance). [1]
From Sattva arises wisdom, and from Rajas greed; miscomprehension, delusion and ignorance arise from Tamas. [4]
Knowledge arises from goodness, and greed from passion; from darkness arise negligence and delusion and also ignorance. [9]
From Goodness is born wisdom, from Passion greed; from Darkness heedlessness and delusion and also ignorance. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Sattva — luminous and stainless — yet binds the jīva through attachment to happiness and attachment to knowledge.
Darkness, inertness, heedlessness, and delusion arise — know that tamas is predominant.
With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.
Deluded by the three guṇa-constituted states, all this world does not recognize Me — beyond them, imperishable.
This divine māyā of Mine, made of the guṇas, is hard to cross — but those who take refuge in Me alone do cross it.
Acting for reward is the lowest form of action. Seek the wisdom that transcends reward-seeking.