ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः ।जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसाः ॥
ūrdhvaṃ gacchanti sattvasthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ |jaghanyaguṇavṛttisthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ ||
- ऊर्ध्वम् · ūrdhvam
- upward
- गच्छन्ति · gacchanti
- they go
- सत्त्वस्थाः · sattvasthāḥ
- those established in lucidity
- मध्ये · madhye
- in the middle
- तिष्ठन्ति · tiṣṭhanti
- they remain
- राजसाः · rājasāḥ
- the passionate
- जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्थाः · jaghanyaguṇavṛttisthāḥ
- dwelling in the lowest guna's workings
- अधः · adhaḥ
- downward
- तामसाः · tāmasāḥ
- the inert, darkened
“Those settled in lucidity rise upward; the passionate stay in the middle; sunk in the lowest workings, the darkened go down.”
— Original plain-language translation
A vertical map of destiny: clarity lifts, restlessness holds level, dullness drags down. The Gita treats this as natural law rather than punishment. Every small choice of habit is a vote for one of the three directions.
— Reader's notes (original)