संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Jñāneśvarī · Adhyāya 14

Cluster 0496 — BG-14.5 — *sattvam rajas tama iti guṇāḥ prakṛti-sambhavāḥ — nibadhnanti mahā-bāho dehe dehinam avyayam*

BG-14.5

Sanskrit

सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसंभवाः। निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम्॥५॥

Translation

SATTVA, RAJAS, TAMAS — THUS (iti) the GUṆAS — BORN OF PRAKṚTI (prakṛti-sambhavāḥ) — they BIND (nibadhnanti) O-MIGHTY-ARMED (mahā-bāho) IN THE BODY (dehe) the IMPERISHABLE BODY-DWELLER (dehinam avyayam).

Function

BG-14.5 delivers the iconic GUṆA-INTRODUCTION + TRIAD-NAMING + BANDHA-DOCTRINE foundational to the entire chapter-14:

  • SATTVA-RAJAS-TAMAS triad-naming — the iconic three-guṇa technical-vocabulary, naming the three-strands-cords-binders of PRAKṚTI.
  • PRAKṚTI-SAMBHAVĀḤ origin-claim — BORN-OF-PRAKṚTI, confirming the guṇas' origin in PRAKṚTI-MAHAD-BRAHMA-mother (BG-14.3-4).
  • NIBADHNANTI binding-verb — THEY-BIND, the central BG-14 doctrine introducing the bandha-mokṣa argument.
  • AVYAYA-DEHIN-BOUND-in-DEHA paradox — what gets BOUND is itself IMPERISHABLE; chapter-14's deep-structural problem resolved later via guṇātīta-doctrine.

Jñāneśvar's 10-ovi Treatment

Jñāneśvar's treatment (14.138-14.147) renders the verse with tight Marathi pedagogical-architecture (2+3+1+1+3):

(i) 14.138-14.139 — Triad-Naming + Hierarchy (2 ovis)

  • 14.138 — explicit triad-naming + PRAKṚTI-BHŪMIKĀ: tarī sattva-raja-tama — tighāmsi hēm nāma — āṇi prakṛti janma — bhūmikā yayām (SATTVA-RAJA-TAMA — these three have THIS NAME — AND PRAKṚTI is the BIRTH-GROUND). The BHŪMIKĀ ground-stage vocabulary is purely Marathi.

  • 14.139 — iconic hierarchy-naming: yēth sattva tēm uttama — raja tēm madhyama — tihīmmājīm tama — sāviyādhārēm (HERE SATTVA is UTTAMA — RAJA is MADHYAMA — among-three TAMA is NATURALLY-BELOW). The SĀVIYĀDHĀRĒm naturally-below vocabulary anticipates BG-14.18's UPWARD-MIDDLE-DOWNWARD trajectory.

(ii) 14.140-14.142 — 3-Simile-Cascade (3 ovis)

  • 14.140 — VAYASĀTRAYA THREE-AGES-IN-ONE-BODY — hēm ēkēci vṛttīcyā ṭhāyīm — triguṇatva āvaḍē pāhīm — vayasātraya dēhīm — yēkīm jēvīm (in ONE VṚTTI three-guṇa-ness SEEMS — as THREE-AGES in ONE BODY). The classical Vedāntic vayasātraya-doctrine.

  • 14.141 — GOLD-IMPURITY 5-FOLD-TOUCHSTONE — kām mīnalēni kīḍēm — jamva jamva tūka vāḍhē — tamva tamva sōnēm hīna paḍē — pāmcikā kasīm (as IMPURITY MIXED — as WEIGHT GROWS — so GOLD becomes HĪNA — on the PĀṀCIKĀ-5-FOLD-TOUCHSTONE). The iconic rural-assay imagery.

  • 14.142 — SAVADHA-PAṆA-ĀḶASA-SUṢUPTI — paim savadhapaṇa jaisēm — vāhavilēm āḷasēm — suṣupti baisē — ghaṇāvōni (as WAKEFULNESS OVERTAKEN by LAZINESS — DEEP-SLEEP SINKS-DOWN). Deploys Māṇḍūkya's jāgrat-svapna-suṣupti three-state doctrine.

(iii) 14.143 — AJÑĀNA-AṄGĪKĀRA Causal-Pivot (1 ovi)

  • 14.143 — iconic causal-mechanism: taisī ajñānāngīkārēm — nigālī vṛtti vikhurē — tē sattva-raja-dvārēm — tama hī hōya (SO by AJÑĀNA-ACCEPTANCE — the LIBERATED-VṚTTI SCATTERS — through SATTVA-RAJA-DOORS — it becomes TAMA). The iconic Marathi pedagogical-elevation supplying the deeper avidyā-acceptance root.

(iv) 14.144 — Arjuna-Vocative Announcement (1 ovi)

  • 14.144 — arjunā gā jāṇa — yayām nāma guṇa — ātām dākhaūm khūṇa — bāndhitī tē (O-ARJUNA KNOW — these are CALLED GUṆAS — NOW I'LL SHOW THE SIGN — of HOW THEY BIND). The transition-marker into binding-mechanism disclosure. KHŪṆA-SIGN-MARK vocabulary is purely Marathi.

(v) 14.145-14.147 — Binding-Mechanism Disclosure + FISH-HOOK Climax (3 ovis)

  • 14.145 — KṢETRA-JÑA + ĀTMĀ-MŌṬAKĀ + MUHŪRTA-mistake — tarī kṣētrajña daśē — ātmā mōṭakā paisē — hēm dēha mī aisēm — muhūrta karī (in KṢETRA-JÑA-STATE — the ĀTMĀ EXPANDS into MŌṬAKĀ-large-mass — 'this DEHA is ME' — MAKES for a MUHŪRTA). The 1st binding-moment.

  • 14.146 — MAMATVA-SŪTĪ life-long thread — ājanma maraṇāmtīm — dēha-dharmīm samastīm — mamatvācī sūtī — ghē nā jamva (from JANMA to MARAṆA-end — in ALL DEHA-DHARMAS — the MAMATVA-SŪTĪ-thread is TAKEN). The 2nd binding-moment — life-long mine-ness-thread.

  • 14.147 — FISH-HOOK climax — jaisī mīnācyā tōṇḍīm — paḍē nā jamva uṇḍī — tamva gaḷa āsuḍī — jaḷapāradhī (as in the FISH'S MOUTH — UNTIL the BAIT DROPS-IN — the ANGLER JERKS the HOOK). The iconic rural-fishing imagery as precise-vehicle for the Sanskrit NIBADHNANTI. The MĪNA-UṆḌĪ-GAḶA-JAḶA-PĀRADHĪ vocabulary is purely Marathi.

Five precise Marathi elevations beyond the Sanskrit

  1. UTTAMA-MADHYAMA-SĀVIYĀDHĀRĒm hierarchy (14.139) — Jñāneśvar's explicit vertical-ranking of the triad is purely Marathi pedagogical-elevation. The SĀVIYĀDHĀRĒm naturally-below vocabulary precisely names TAMA's default gravitational-bottom, anticipating BG-14.18.

  2. 3-simile-cascade (14.140-14.142) — VAYASĀTRAYA + GOLD-IMPURITY-PĀṀCIKĀ-KASĪṀ + SAVADHA-PAṆA-ĀḶASA-SUṢUPTI. Three concrete vehicles for the triad-doctrine: classical-life-stages + rural-assay-imagery + Māṇḍūkya three-state-doctrine. Purely Marathi pedagogical-elevation.

  3. AJÑĀNA-AṄGĪKĀRA causal-pivot (14.143) — Vyāsa's BG-14.5 names PRAKṚTI-SAMBHAVĀḤ as origin but does NOT name AJÑĀNA-AṄGĪKĀRA. Jñāneśvar's pedagogical-elevation supplies the deeper avidyā-acceptance root.

  4. KṢETRA-JÑA-ĀTMĀ-MŌṬAKĀ + MUHŪRTA-mistake + MAMATVA-SŪTĪ (14.145-14.146) — the binding-mechanism disclosure naming the precise 1st-moment ĀTMĀ-expansion into deha-mass + DEHA-MĪ momentary-mistake + life-long MAMATVA-mine-ness-thread. Purely Marathi technical-elevation of NIBADHNANTI.

  5. FISH-HOOK climax (14.147) — MĪNA-UṆḌĪ-GAḶA-JAḶA-PĀRADHĪ rural-fishing imagery as precise-vehicle for NIBADHNANTI. Purely Marathi pedagogical-elevation. The angler-jerks-hook-moment-fish-mouths-bait simile is the cluster's climax-image.

Arc-position

BG-14.5 stands as the iconic foundational GUṆA-INTRODUCTION + BANDHA-DOCTRINE verse opening adhyāya-14's central argument. The chapter's argument: BG-14.1-4 cosmogonic-block → BG-14.5 triad-naming + BANDHA-doctrine → BG-14.6-9 individual-guṇa elaboration → BG-14.10-13 guṇa-domination → BG-14.14-18 guṇa-fruit + UPWARD-MIDDLE-DOWNWARD-trajectory → BG-14.19-27 guṇātīta-doctrine + chapter-coda. Cluster 0496 delivers the foundational triad-naming the entire chapter elaborates. The next cluster (0497) opens individual-guṇa treatment with SATTVA's specific binding-mechanism (BG-14.6).