Bhagavad Gita 14.9: meaning and translation
Chapter 14: Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga. Krishna says
Sattva attaches to happiness, Krishna says, and rajas to action, while tamas covers knowledge and attaches to carelessness.
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Bhagavad Gita 14.9
सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रजः कर्मणि भारत ।ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तमः प्रमादे सञ्जयत्युत ॥
Sattvam sukhe sanjayati rajah karmani bharataJnanamavritya tu tamah pramade sanjayatyuta
sattvaṃ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata |jñānamāvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayatyuta ||
Our explanation Sattva attaches to happiness, Krishna says, and rajas to action, while tamas covers knowledge and attaches to carelessness.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि सत्त्व सुख में लगाता है, रज कर्म में, और तम ज्ञान को ढककर प्रमाद में लगाता है।
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Word by word
- सत्त्वम् sattvam · sattva (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: sat-tva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1135, col. 2 “the quality of purity or goodness”
- सुखे sukhe · to happiness (noun (neuter), locative singular) Dictionary: sukha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1221, col. 1 “ease, easiness, comfort, prosperity, pleasure, happiness”
- सञ्जयति sañjayati · attaches (causative present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 2. sañj, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1132, col. 3 “to cause to stick or cling to, unite or connect with (loc.)”
- रजः rajaḥ · rajas (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: rajas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 863, col. 2 “the ‘darkening’ quality, passion, emotion, affection”
- कर्मणि karmaṇi · to action (noun (neuter), locative singular) Dictionary: karman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 258, col. 2 “act, action, performance, business”
- भारत bhārata · O Bharata (Arjuna) (noun (masculine), vocative singular) Dictionary: bhārata, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 753, col. 1 “a descendant of Bharata”
- ज्ञानम् jñānam · knowledge (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: jñāna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 426, col. 1 “knowing, becoming acquainted with, knowledge”
- आवृत्य āvṛtya · covering (absolutive (having done)) Dictionary: 1. ā-vṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 156, col. 1 “to cover, hide, conceal”
- तु tu · but (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. tu, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 449, col. 3 “but”
- तमः tamaḥ · tamas (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: tamas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 438, col. 1 “one of the 3 qualities or constituents of everything in creation”
- प्रमादे pramāde · to carelessness (noun (masculine), locative singular) Dictionary: pra-māda, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 685, col. 2 “negligence, carelessness about (abl. or comp.)”
- सञ्जयति sañjayati · attaches (causative present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 2. sañj, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1132, col. 3 “to cause to stick or cling to, unite or connect with (loc.)”
- उत uta · indeed (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. uta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 175, col. 2 “and, also, even, or”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 108.
Goodness unites (the self) with pleasure; passion, O descendant of Bharata! with action; and darkness with heedlessness, after shrouding up knowledge.
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 108.
Goodness unites (the self) with pleasure; passion, O descendant of Bharata! with action; and darkness with heedlessness, after shrouding up knowledge.
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Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 130.
Sattva attacheth to bliss, Rajas to action, O Bhârata. Tamas, verily having shrouded wisdom, attacheth on the contrary to negligence.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 274.
Satva attaches to happiness, and Rajas to action, O descendant of Bharata, while Tamas, verily, shrouding discrimination, attaches to miscompreheusion.
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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 14.9.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 130. Bhagavad Gita 14.9.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 274. Bhagavad Gita 14.9.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 14.9: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/14/9/
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Bhagavad Gita 14.9
सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रजः कर्मणि भारत ।
ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तमः प्रमादे सञ्जयत्युत ॥
“Goodness unites (the self) with pleasure; passion, O descendant of Bharata! with action; and darkness with heedlessness, after shrouding up knowledge.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 108, public domain)
“Sattva attacheth to bliss, Rajas to action, O Bhârata. Tamas, verily having shrouded wisdom, attacheth on the contrary to negligence.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 130, public domain)
“Satva attaches to happiness, and Rajas to action, O descendant of Bharata, while Tamas, verily, shrouding discrimination, attaches to miscompreheusion.”
(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/14/9/ 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 14.9?
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