संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Jñāneśvarī · Adhyāya 14

Cluster 0502 — BG-14.16 — *karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyāhuḥ sāttvikam nirmalam phalam — rajasas tu phalam duḥkham ajñānam tamasaḥ phalam*

BG-14.16

Sanskrit

कर्मणः सुकृतस्याहुः सात्त्विकं निर्मलं फलम् । रजसस्तु फलं दुःखमज्ञानं तमसः फलम् ॥१६॥

Translation

THEY-SAY (āhuḥ) OF SUKṚTA-KARMA (karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasya) the FRUIT (phalam) is SĀTTVIKA + NIRMALA (sāttvikam nirmalam) — BUT (tu) of RAJAS (rajasaḥ) the FRUIT (phalam) is DUḤKHA — AJÑĀNA (ajñānam) is the FRUIT (phalam) of TAMAS (tamasaḥ).

Function

BG-14.16 delivers the iconic GUṆA-PHALA-DOCTRINE — the three-fold fruit-classification of karma-by-guṇa:

  • SUKṚTA → SĀTTVIKA-NIRMALA-phala — well-done sattva-rooted karma bears pure-stainless fruit.
  • RAJAS → DUḤKHA-phala — rajas-rooted karma bears suffering.
  • TAMAS → AJÑĀNA-phala — tamas-rooted karma bears non-knowledge.

The verse follows BG-14.11-15's guṇa-diagnosis-and-death-time-doctrine and extends the analytic to phala-classification — what each guṇa-rooted action BEARS as its characteristic-fruit.

Jñāneśvar's 5-ovi Treatment

Jñāneśvar's treatment (14.260-14.264) renders the verse with tight pedagogical-architecture (1+1+2+1):

(i) 14.260 — ŚRAUTA-Tradition SUKṚTA-Naming (1 ovi)

  • 14.260 — yēṇēm-ci paim kāraṇēm — jē nipajē sattva-guṇēm — tēm sukṛta aisēm mhaṇē — śrauta samō (BY-THIS-VERY-CAUSE — WHAT ARISES BY SATTVA-GUṆA — IS CALLED SUKṚTA — in ŚRAUTA-SAMAYA). The iconic ŚRAUTA-SAMAYA vocabulary precisely grounds the Sanskrit sukṛta-term in authoritative Vedic tradition.

(ii) 14.261 — SĀTTVIKA-PHALA Quadruple-Adjective Characterization (1 ovi)

  • 14.261 — mhaṇauni tayā nirmaḷā — sukha-jñānī saraḷā — apūrva yē phaḷā — sāttvika tēm (THEREFORE TO THAT NIRMALA — SUKHA-JÑĀNI SARAḶA — APŪRVA IS the FRUIT — SĀTTVIKA). The SUKHA-JÑĀNI + SARAḶA + APŪRVA triad is purely Marathi pedagogical-amplification beyond the Sanskrit dual-adjective.

(iii) 14.262-14.263 — RAJAS-PHALA Double-Simile (2 ovis)

  • 14.262 — INDRĀVAṆĪ-COLOCYNTH simile — mag rājasā jiyā kriyā — tayā indrāvaṇī phaḷaliyā — jē sukhēm citārūniyām — phaḷatī duḥkhēm (THE RĀJASA ACTIONS — BEAR INDRĀVAṆĪ-FRUIT — DRAWING by PLEASURE — they BEAR DUḤKHA). The iconic INDRĀVAṆĪ-colocynth-fruit imagery figures the rajas-karma fruit as the deceptive-pleasure-bearing-fruit that yields duḥkha on consumption.

  • 14.263 — NIṀBOḶĪ-NIMBA-BERRY simile — kām nimbōḷiyēcēm pika — vari gōḍa āmta vikha — taisēm tēm rājasa dēkha — kriyā-phaḷa (OR the NIṀBOḶĪ-RIPENED — SWEET OUTSIDE POISON INSIDE — SO BEHOLD the RĀJASA — KARMA-FRUIT). The double figuration establishes the pedagogical-fixity of the rajas-fruit deceptive-attraction.

(iv) 14.264 — TAMAS-PHALA VIṢĀṄKURA-Poison-Sprout Simile (1 ovi)

  • 14.264 — tāmasa karma jitukēm — ajñāna-phaḷēm-ci pikē — viṣānkura vikhēm — jiyā parī (TAMAS-KARMA WHATEVER — RIPENS as AJÑĀNA-FRUIT — just as POISON-SPROUT from POISON). The iconic VIṢĀṄKURA-VIKHA poison-sprout-from-poison simile figures the tamas-karma fruit as the non-deceptive direct-poison-from-poison yield, distinct from the rajas double-deception.

Four precise Marathi elevations beyond the Sanskrit

  1. ŚRAUTA-SAMAYA naming-vocabulary (14.260) — Jñāneśvar's explicit ŚRAUTA-tradition-naming-frame precisely glosses the Sanskrit ĀHUḤ as the śiṣṭa-paramparā speech-marker.

  2. SĀTTVIKA-PHALA quadruple-adjective characterization (14.261) — Jñāneśvar's NIRMALA + SUKHA-JÑĀNI + SARAḶA + APŪRVA quadruple amplifies the Sanskrit dual-adjective sāttvika-nirmala with pedagogical-amplification naming the iconic supreme-yield of sattva-karma.

  3. Iconic INDRĀVAṆĪ + NIṀBOḶĪ double-simile for rajas-phala (14.262-14.263) — Jñāneśvar's classical Marathi rural-imagery doubles the rajas-phala figuration with the colocynth-decorative-bitter-fruit and the nimba-berry-sweet-outside-poison-inside imagery, establishing the pedagogical-fixity of the rajas-fruit deceptive-attraction.

  4. Iconic VIṢĀṄKURA-poison-sprout simile for tamas-phala (14.264) — Jñāneśvar's poison-from-poison direct-yielding imagery figures the tamas-phala as the non-deceptive direct-ajñāna-yield, distinct from the rajas double-deception.

Arc-position

BG-14.16 stands at the precise doctrinal-pivot from guṇa-diagnosis-and-death-time (BG-14.11-15) to guṇa-phala-classification (BG-14.16). The 0502 → 0503 transition extends to BG-14.17's three-fold yield-classification (SATTVA→JÑĀNA + RAJAS→LOBHA + TAMAS→PRAMĀDA-MOHA-AJÑĀNA).