Lord Krishna
Divine TeacherThe Supreme Lord, the charioteer and divine guide of Arjuna. Krishna delivers the eternal wisdom of the Gita, revealing the nature of the soul, duty, and the path to liberation.
Speaking: Chapter 14, Verse 15
Verse 15
The Yoga of the Three Gunas
Dying in rajas, one is born among those attached to action; dying in tamas, one is born in the wombs of the deluded.
Context & Meaning
The parallel fates of rājasic and tāmasic deaths: one who dies in rajas — in a state of passion, desire, and agitation — is born into circumstances that perpetuate that orientation, among people similarly absorbed in action and its fruits. One who dies in tamas — in delusion, heaviness, and unconsciousness — is born into circumstances even further from clarity, into what the verse calls mūḍha-yoni, the wombs of the deluded. The continuity of karma is not punishment but logical consequence: the quality of consciousness at death determines the quality of the next life's starting conditions.
Scholar Commentaries
1 commentary · Public domainRamanujacharya
VishishtadvaitaThis teaching is not meant to frighten but to motivate. Understanding that the guṇa dominant at death shapes the next birth gives one every reason to deliberately cultivate sattva throughout life — especially in the later years, when the moment of death draws nearer. This is the practical wisdom embedded in this cosmology.