प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च कार्याकार्ये भयाभये । बन्धं मोक्षं च या वेत्ति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी ॥
pravṛttiṃ ca nivṛttiṃ ca kāryākārye bhayābhaye | bandhaṃ mokṣaṃ ca yā vetti buddhiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī ||
Sāttvic buddhi: correctly knows pravṛtti-nivṛtti, kārya-akārya, fear-fearlessness, bondage-liberation.
Word by word (3)
- pravṛttiṃ ca nivṛttiṃ ca kāryākārye bhayābhaye
- — pravṛtti (engagement in action/outward movement) and nivṛtti (withdrawal/renunciation/inward movement), kārya (what should be done) and akārya (what should not be done), bhaya (fear) and abhaya (fearlessness) — three pairs of opposites that sāttvic buddhi correctly discriminates
- bandhaṃ mokṣaṃ ca yā vetti buddhiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī
- — and (ca) bondage (bandham) and liberation (mokṣam), that (yā) buddhi (intellect/discernment) that KNOWS (vetti = truly knows/discerns), that (sā) O Pārtha (son-of-Pṛthā, Arjuna), is sāttvic (sāttvikī) — the four pairs: pravṛtti-nivṛtti, kārya-akārya, bhaya-abhaya, bandha-mokṣa
- pravṛtti-nivṛtti
- — engagement and renunciation — the two fundamental modes of spiritual life; sāttvic buddhi knows WHEN each is appropriate; pravṛtti = the path of action (karmamārga); nivṛtti = the path of knowledge/renunciation (jñānamārga); knowing which applies in what situation is the mark of sāttvic discernment
That intellect which correctly knows the paths of engagement and renunciation, what should be done and what should not, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation — that intellect, O Pārtha, is sāttvic.
A modern analogy
Sāttvic buddhi is like a great doctor with perfect diagnostic discernment — knowing when to prescribe action (pravṛtti) and when rest (nivṛtti), what is harmful and what is beneficial, what to fear and what is safe, and above all understanding the root disease (bondage) and its cure (liberation). The intellect that truly sees all these pairs correctly is the highest form of human discernment.
V30 opens the three-fold buddhi analysis. The sāttvic buddhi's defining characteristic is comprehensive correct discrimination: four binary pairs that together constitute the total field of ethical-spiritual discernment. Notably, the four pairs escalate in depth: pravṛtti-nivṛtti (path-choosing) → kārya-akārya (moral discrimination) → bhaya-abhaya (emotional discernment) → bandha-mokṣa (ultimate spiritual discrimination). The sāttvic buddhi sees all levels clearly and correctly.
The final pair bandha-mokṣa (bondage-liberation) as the culminating mark of sāttvic buddhi is philosophically decisive: the Gita's definition of the highest intellect is one that correctly understands what bondage is and what liberation is. This is the jijñāsā (desire to know) of Brahma-jijñāsā — not merely knowing right from wrong action, but knowing the ultimate spiritual situation of the jīva (bondage) and the path to freedom (mokṣa). Sāttvic buddhi is, at its peak, the buddhi oriented toward mukti.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
That which knows action and inaction, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, fear and absence of fear, bondage and liberation, that intellect is Sattvic, O Partha. [1]
That which knows the paths of work and renunciation, right and wrong action, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation, that intellect, O Partha, is Sattvika. [4]
MISSING from index. [9]
The intellect which knows action and inaction, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, fear and fearlessness, bondage and deliverance, is of the quality of goodness. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Sāttvic jñāna: seeing ONE imperishable being in ALL — undivided among the divided.
Many, freed from attachment, fear, and anger, purified by knowledge-austerity — have attained My being.
I am the strength of the strong, free from craving — and the desire in beings that does not conflict with dharma.
Arjuna sees his own people ready to die — and his body breaks before his mind can argue.
Abandon all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone — I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.