सत्त्वं ज्ञानं रज: कर्म तमोऽज्ञानमिहोच्यते । गुणव्यतिकर: काल: स्वभाव: सूत्रमेव च ॥ १३ ॥
sattvaṁ jñānaṁ rajaḥ karma tamo ’jñānam ihocyate guṇa-vyatikaraḥ kālaḥ svabhāvaḥ sūtram eva ca
- sattvam
- the mode of goodness
- jñānam
- knowledge
- rajaḥ
- the mode of passion
- karma
- fruitive work
- tamaḥ
- the mode of ignorance
- ajñānam
- foolishness
- iha
- in this world
- ucyate
- is called
- guṇa
- of the modes
- vyatikaraḥ
- the agitated transformation
- kālaḥ
- time
- svabhāvaḥ
- innate tendency, nature
- sūtram
- the mahat-tattva
- eva
- indeed
- ca
- also
In this world the mode of goodness is recognized as knowledge, the mode of passion as fruitive work, and the mode of darkness as ignorance. Time is perceived as the agitated interaction of the material modes, and the totality of functional propensity is embodied by the primeval sūtra, or mahat-tattva.