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 ||
- प्रवृत्तिम् · pravṛttim
- activity, the path of engagement
- निवृत्तिम् · nivṛttim
- withdrawal, the path of turning back
- कार्याकार्ये · kāryākārye
- what should and should not be done
- भयाभये · bhayābhaye
- fear and fearlessness, danger and safety
- बन्धम् · bandham
- bondage
- मोक्षम् · mokṣam
- liberation
- या · yā
- which
- वेत्ति · vetti
- knows
- बुद्धिः · buddhiḥ
- understanding
- पार्थ · pārtha
- O Partha
- सात्त्विकी · sāttvikī
- sattvic
“The understanding that knows engagement and withdrawal, what should and should not be done, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation — that, O Partha, is sattvic.”
— Original plain-language translation
Sattvic intellect discerns life's great pairs: when to act and when to refrain, what duty requires, what truly endangers, and what binds versus frees. It is practical and ultimate at once. This fourfold discernment is the decision-maker Arjuna needs on the battlefield.
— Reader's notes (original)