सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसम्भवाः | निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् ||
sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇāḥ prakṛti-sambhavāḥ nibadhnanti mahā-bāho dehe dehinam avyayam
Translation
Sattva, rajas and tamas — these qualities, O mighty-armed, born of Nature, bind the immortal soul in the body.
Interpretation
Here begins the core teaching: the three gunas (qualities) of Nature — sattva (clarity/goodness), rajas (passion/activity), and tamas (inertia/darkness) — are the three strands that weave the fabric of all created existence. The soul itself is beyond the gunas, immortal and unchanging, but through identification with body and mind it becomes bound by these three forces. The gunas bind the Self the way ropes bind a person — not by changing its nature but by creating the illusion of limitation.