Bhagavad-gītā 14.15
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
रजसि प्रलयं गत्वा कर्मसङ्गिषु जायते।तथा प्रलीनस्तमसि मूढयोनिषु जायते।।14.15।।
rajasi pralayaṁ gatvā karma-saṅgiṣhu jāyate tathā pralīnas tamasi mūḍha-yoniṣhu jāyate
Meeting death in Rajas he is born among those attached to action; so dying in Tamas, he is born in the wombs of the irrational.
English rendering by Swami Swarupananda. Public domain first edition, 1909.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| rajasi | in the mode of passion |
| pralayam | death |
| gatvā | attaining |
| karma-saṅgiṣhu | among people driven by work |
| jāyate | are born |
| tathā | likewise |
| pralīnaḥ | dying |
| tamasi | in the mode of ignorance |
| mūḍha-yoniṣhu | in the animal kingdom |
| jāyate | takes birth |
Read the Sanskrit as a connected thought built from rajasi (in the mode of passion), tathā (likewise), and jāyate (takes birth). Ask what changes between the first and last term, and how that movement contributes to the three qualities that bind embodied life. State the connection in your own words, then check it against Bhagavad-gita 14.15.
Original school explanation. Written independently from the Sanskrit word map. It is not a quotation, translation, or summary of a named modern commentary. Chapter lens: Study how the three guṇas arise, bind, become visible in effects and are related to a response beyond identification.
Five careful reading routes
The cards below are reading references, not claims about what an acharya says in this verse. Modern wording stays inside authorized editions. Classical commentary will appear only after an independent translation has passed scholarly and rights review.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
Meeting death in Rajas he is born among those attached to action
- 2
so dying in Tamas, he is born in the wombs of the irrational
- 3
rajasi: in the mode of passion
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A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 14.15, consult the authorized BBT edition. No purport, translation, or author-attributed summary is reproduced here.
Find the authorized editionBhaktivinoda Thakura
Rasika-ranjanaA verified independent rendering for Bhagavad-gita 14.15 has not yet passed scholarly and rights review. Modern translations are not copied here.
Independent rendering pending reviewBaladeva Vidyabhushana
Gita-bhushana-bhashyaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 14.15 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewVishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Sarartha-varshini-tikaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 14.15 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 14.15, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
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