उपर्युपरि गच्छन्ति सत्त्वेन ब्राह्मणा जना: । तमसाधोऽध आमुख्याद् रजसान्तरचारिण: ॥ २१ ॥
upary upari gacchanti sattvena brāhmaṇā janāḥ tamasādho ’dha ā-mukhyād rajasāntara-cāriṇaḥ
- upari upari
- higher and higher
- gacchanti
- they go
- sattvena
- by the mode of goodness
- brāhmaṇāḥ
- persons dedicated to Vedic principles
- janāḥ
- such men
- tamasā
- by the mode of ignorance
- adhaḥ adhaḥ
- lower and lower
- ā-mukhyāt
- headfirst
- rajasā
- by the mode of passion
- antara-cāriṇaḥ
- remaining in intermediate situations
Learned persons dedicated to Vedic culture are elevated by the mode of goodness to higher and higher positions. The mode of ignorance, on the other hand, forces one to fall headfirst into lower and lower births. And by the mode of passion one continues transmigrating through human bodies.