14.17
सत्त्वात्सञ्जायते ज्ञानं
रजसो लोभ एव च ।
प्रमादमोहौ तमसो
भवतोऽज्ञानमेव च ॥
sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṃ rajaso lobha eva ca
pramādamohau tamaso bhavato 'jñānam eva ca
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking, to Arjuna (अर्जुन).
The verse
From sattva (सत्त्व) knowledge is born, and from rajas (रजस्) greed; from tamas (तमस्) come negligence and delusion, and ignorance as well.
नेपालीमा
सत्त्वबाट ज्ञान जन्मिन्छ, र रजस्बाट लोभ, तमस्बाट प्रमाद र मोह आउँछन्, र अज्ञान पनि।
Where it sits
14.16 sorted fruits, and this verse sorts what each strand gives rise to: knowledge, greed, and the dark trio, the same direction as the signs of 14.11 through 14.13.
Split: सत्त्वात् + सञ्जायते + ज्ञानम् + रजसः + लोभः + एव + च + प्रमाद-मोहौ + तमसः + भवतः + अज्ञानम् + एव + च
sattvāt + sañjāyate + jñānam + rajasaḥ + lobhaḥ + eva + ca + pramāda-mohau + tamasaḥ + bhavataḥ + ajñānam + eva + ca
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| सत्त्वात् | sattvāt | ablative neuter | from sattva (सत्त्व). |
| सञ्जायते | sañjāyate | present, 3rd singular, middle | is born. sam-jan (सम्-जन्). |
| ज्ञानम् | jñānam | nominative neuter | knowledge. |
| रजसः | rajasaḥ | ablative neuter | from rajas (रजस्). |
| लोभः | lobhaḥ | nominative | greed. |
| एव | eva | indeclinable | indeed. |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| प्रमाद-मोहौ | pramāda-mohau | nominative dual | negligence and delusion. The dual ending is said once. |
| तमसः | tamasaḥ | ablative neuter | from tamas (तमस्). |
| भवतः | bhavataḥ | present, 3rd dual | the two come to be. bhū (भू). |
| अज्ञानम् | ajñānam | nominative neuter | ignorance. |
| एव | eva | indeclinable | indeed. |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
The phrases
sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṃ rajasaḥ lobhaḥ eva ca (सत्त्वात् सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसः लोभः एव च) is the first two births of a quality, not of a person. From sattva (सत्त्व), knowledge is born. From rajas (रजस्), greed. The verb sañjāyate (सञ्जायते) is said with knowledge and heard again with greed.
प्रमाद-मोहौ तमसः भवतः अज्ञानम् एव च pramāda-mohau tamasaḥ bhavataḥ ajñānam eva ca is the dark strand, and it needs a dual. Negligence and delusion come to be from tamas (तमस्). The verb bhavataḥ (भवतः) is dual because those two are dual. अज्ञानम् एव च ajñānam eva ca adds a third, ignorance, beside them.
Sanskrit in this line
pramāda-mohau (प्रमाद-मोहौ) is nominative dual, two nouns and one ending. bhavataḥ (भवतः) is the verb that matches it, present third person dual, "the two come to be." It is not the genitive bhavataḥ (भवतः), "of you," and it is not a participle. The dual is how you know. ajñānam (अज्ञानम्) is singular, so it does not share that verb. It is added by eva ca (एव च).
Say it back
Cover the English. Say what is born from each strand. If bhavataḥ (भवतः) is said as "of you," the two have no verb. Stay here.