Bhagavad Gita 14.10: meaning and translation
Chapter 14: Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga. Krishna says
Sattva rises by overpowering rajas and tamas, Krishna says; rajas by overpowering sattva and tamas; and tamas by overpowering sattva and rajas.
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Bhagavad Gita 14.10
रजस्तमश्चाभिभूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत ।रजः सत्त्वं तमश्चैव तमः सत्त्वं रजस्तथा ॥
Rajastamashchabhibhuya sattvam bhavati bharataRajah sattvam tamashchaiva tamah sattvam rajastatha
rajastamaścābhibhūya sattvaṃ bhavati bhārata |rajaḥ sattvaṃ tamaścaiva tamaḥ sattvaṃ rajastathā ||
Our explanation Sattva rises by overpowering rajas and tamas, Krishna says; rajas by overpowering sattva and tamas; and tamas by overpowering sattva and rajas. In his account the three are always present, and one comes to the fore by overpowering the other two.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि रज और तम को दबाकर सत्त्व बढ़ता है; सत्त्व और तम को दबाकर रज; और सत्त्व और रज को दबाकर तम। उनके कहने के अनुसार तीनों सदा रहते हैं, और एक तब प्रमुख होता है जब वह बाकी दो को दबा देता है।
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Word by word
- रजः rajaḥ · rajas (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: rajas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 863, col. 2 “the ‘darkening’ quality, passion, emotion, affection”
- तमः tamaḥ · tamas (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: tamas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 438, col. 1 “one of the 3 qualities or constituents of everything in creation”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- अभिभूय abhibhūya · overpowering (absolutive (having done)) Dictionary: 1. abhi-bhū, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 66, col. 3 “to overcome, overpower, predominate, conquer, surpass, overspread”
- सत्त्वम् sattvam · sattva (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: sat-tva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1135, col. 2 “the quality of purity or goodness”
- भवति bhavati · comes up, prevails (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. bhū, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 760, col. 2 “arise, come into being, exist”
- भारत bhārata · O Bharata (Arjuna) (noun (masculine), vocative singular) Dictionary: bhārata, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 753, col. 1 “a descendant of Bharata”
- रजः rajaḥ · rajas (prevails) (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: rajas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 863, col. 2 “the ‘darkening’ quality, passion, emotion, affection”
- सत्त्वम् sattvam · sattva (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: sat-tva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1135, col. 2 “the quality of purity or goodness”
- तमः tamaḥ · tamas (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: tamas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 438, col. 1 “one of the 3 qualities or constituents of everything in creation”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- एव eva · also (indeclinable) Dictionary: 1. eva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone, merely”
- तमः tamaḥ · tamas (prevails) (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: tamas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 438, col. 1 “one of the 3 qualities or constituents of everything in creation”
- सत्त्वम् sattvam · sattva (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: sat-tva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1135, col. 2 “the quality of purity or goodness”
- रजः rajaḥ · rajas (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: rajas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 863, col. 2 “the ‘darkening’ quality, passion, emotion, affection”
- तथा tathā · likewise (indeclinable) Dictionary: tathā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 433, col. 3 “in that manner, so, thus”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 108.
Passion and darkness being repressed, goodness stands, O descendant of Bharata! Passion and goodness (being repressed), darkness; and likewise darkness and goodness (being repressed), passion1.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - The effects of each quality assert themselves, when the other two are held in check. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 108.
Passion and darkness being repressed, goodness stands, O descendant of Bharata! Passion and goodness (being repressed), darkness; and likewise darkness and goodness (being repressed), passion1.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - The effects of each quality assert themselves, when the other two are held in check. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 130–131.
Rajas and Tamas being overcome, Sattva remaineth, O Bhârata. Rajas and Sattva, then Tamas; and Tamas and Sattva, then Rajas.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 274.
Satva arises, O descendant of Bharata, predominating over Rajas and Tamas; and Rajas over Satva and Tamas; so, Tamas over Satva and Rajas.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 108. Bhagavad Gita 14.10.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), pp. 130–131. Bhagavad Gita 14.10.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 274. Bhagavad Gita 14.10.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 14.10: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/14/10/
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Bhagavad Gita 14.10
रजस्तमश्चाभिभूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत ।
रजः सत्त्वं तमश्चैव तमः सत्त्वं रजस्तथा ॥
“Passion and darkness being repressed, goodness stands, O descendant of Bharata! Passion and goodness (being repressed), darkness; and likewise darkness and goodness (being repressed), passion.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 108, public domain)
“Rajas and Tamas being overcome, Sattva remaineth, O Bhârata. Rajas and Sattva, then Tamas; and Tamas and Sattva, then Rajas.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), pp. 130–131, public domain)
“Satva arises, O descendant of Bharata, predominating over Rajas and Tamas; and Rajas over Satva and Tamas; so, Tamas over Satva and Rajas.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 274, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/14/10/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 14.10?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 14 (Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 14, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026