Bhagavad Gita 17.2 त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा

Bhagavad Gita 17.2 — word by word

Explanation

The Blessed Lord said: The faith of embodied beings is of three kinds, born of their own nature: sattvic, rajasic and tamasic. Hear about it. Krishna answers Arjuna by explaining that faith is not one uniform thing. It takes its colour from the person's inner make-up, shaped by the three gunas.

Shankara explains svabhāva as the impressions (saṃskāras) carried from past actions, which become active at the time of death and shape one's tendencies in the next life. Ramanuja similarly links it to accumulated inclinations. The gunas were introduced in chapter 14; here they are applied to faith, and in the verses that follow to worship, food, sacrifice, austerity and charity. The approach is diagnostic rather than condemning: once one knows the type of one's faith, one can work to refine it.

भावार्थ

श्री भगवान ने कहा — देहधारियों की श्रद्धा उनके स्वभाव से उत्पन्न होती है और तीन प्रकार की होती है — सात्त्विक, राजसी और तामसी। उसे सुनो। जैसा स्वभाव होता है, वैसी ही श्रद्धा बनती है।

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