सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसंभवाः।
निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम्।।14.5।।
।।14.5।।हे महाबाहो प्रकृतिसे उत्पन्न होनेवाले सत्त्व? रज और तम -- ये तीनों गुण अविनाशी देहीको देहमें बाँध देते हैं।
The three gunas or modes of material nature are sattva or goodness, rajas or passion and tamas or nescience and all arise from prakriti the material substratum pervading physical existence. The gunas in actual fact are the attributes and qualities of prakriti and their existence can be discerned from the effects that they are responsible for producing such as intelligence, dimwittedness or beautiful, ugly, etc. These attributes and qualities are in a latent state within material nature when it is unevolved but manifests themselves when in an evolved state. The results of their effects is that the immutable atma or immortal soul is nibadhnanti which means enslaved by material sentiments of the mind. Due to this the atma is impounded in a body as a captive, forced to be manufactured as a jiva or an embodied being and subject to birth and death within the body of a demigod, human, animal, fish, etc. The characteristics of the individual gunas along with their method of imprisoning the jiva is given by Lord Krishna next.
