Skip to content
Live Gita
HomeExploreChatWisdomCoursesCommunityBookmarksSettings
Live Gita
HomeExploreChatWisdomCommunity
BG 14.16 — 14.16 The fruit of good action, they say, is Sattvic and pure, verily the fruit of Rajas is pain, and ignorance is the fruit of Tamas.
← Ch. 14
BG 14.16Sign in to save

कर्मणः सुकृतस्याहुः सात्त्विकं निर्मलं फलम् |
रजसस्तु फलं दुःखमज्ञानं तमसः फलम् ||१४-१६||

karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyāhuḥ sāttvikaṃ nirmalaṃ phalam . rajasastu phalaṃ duḥkhamajñānaṃ tamasaḥ phalam ||14-16||


14.16 The fruit of good action, they say, is Sattvic and pure, verily the fruit of Rajas is pain, and ignorance is the fruit of Tamas.

Word-by-word meanings

14.16 कर्मणः of action? सुकृतस्य (of) good? आहुः (they) say? सात्त्विकम् Sattvic? निर्मलम् pure? फलम् the fruit? रजसः of Rajas? तु verily? फलम् the fruit? दुःखम् pain? अज्ञानम् ignorance? तमसः of inertia? फलम् the fruit.Commentary Good action Sattvic action. The fruit of good action is both happiness and,knowledge.They The wise.Rajas means Rajasic action as this verse deals with action. The fruit of Rajasic action is bitter. Rajasic action brings pain? disappointment and dissatisfaction. Rajasic

Commentaries

Non-dualism. The individual self and Brahman are one. The world is appearance (maya). Liberation through knowledge.

Sri Shankaracharya

14.16 Ahuh, they, the wise persons, say; that phalam, the result; sukrtasya, of good; karmanah, work, i.e. acts having the sattva ality; is verily nirmalam, pure; and is sattvikam, born of sattva. Tu, but; phalam, the result; rajasah, of rajas, i.e. of acts that have the alitty of rajas-for the topic relates to actions; is duhkham, sorrow. In accordance with its cause, the result too is indeed sorrow, a product of rajas. So also ajnanam, ignorance; is, as before, (the result) tamasah, of tamas, of unrighteous acts that have the ality of tamas. What else results from the alities?

(Showing excerpt)

Swami Gambirananda

14.16 They say that the result of good work is pure and is born of sattva. But the result of rajas is sorrow; the result of tamas is ignorance.

This interpretation draws on the Advaita tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Want to explore this verse deeper?

Discuss with AI companion →
← 14.15
14.17→