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Adhyāyas / Mokṣa-Sannyāsa Yogaḥ / verse 37

Mūla — the verse

Gita Press numbering
यत्तदग्रे विषमिव परिणामेऽमृतोपमम्। तत्सुखं सात्त्विकं प्रोक्तमात्मबुद्धिप्रसादजम्
yat tad agre viṣam iva pariṇāme 'mṛtopamam tat sukhaṁ sāttvikaṁ proktam ātma-buddhi-prasāda-jam
Anuṣṭubh(!!) irregular in source

Translation

Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣya

That which is like poison in the beginning, but is likened to nectar in the end, and which arises from the purity of one's intellect—that joy is spoken of as born of sattva.

हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda

जो सुख प्रथम (प्रारम्भ में) विष के समान (भासता) है, परन्तु परिणाम में अमृत के समान है, वह आत्मबुद्धि के प्रसाद से उत्पन्न सुख सात्त्विक कहा गया है।।

Pronunciation — Vaamshii

from Vaamshii
यत् तदग्रे विष मिव (!!)
परि णामेऽ मृतो पमम्
तत् सुखं सात् त्विकम् प्रोक्तम्
आत् म बुद् धिप् रसाद जम्
॥ ३७ ॥
Read each split group as one breath-unit; hyphens join pādas kept whole for the meter or a compound word. Symbols: # upadhmānīya (visarga before p/ph), % jihvāmūlīya (visarga before k/kh), ऽ avagraha (an elided a). Full method →

Word by word

padārtha
yatthat which
tatthat
agrein the beginning
viṣam ivalike poison
pariṇāmeat the end
amṛtanectar
upamamcompared to
tatthat
sukhamhappiness
sāttvikamin the mode of goodness
proktamis said
ātmaself
buddhiintelligence
prasāda-jamsatisfactory.

Themes

from The Thematic Companion to the Bhagavad Gītā

Meaning — Questions & Solutions

from Q&A with KnA
18.29–18.40Intellect, firmness and happiness, each threefold.

K completes the great analysis by running buddhi (intellect/judgment), dhṛti (firmness/resolve) and sukha (happiness) through the three strands. Intellect (18.30–32): sattvic buddhi knows rightly what to do and not do, what to fear and not fear, bondage and liberation; rajasic buddhi confuses right and wrong, dharma and adharma; tamasic buddhi, wrapped in darkness, takes adharma to be dharma and sees everything upside-down. Firmness (18.33–35): sattvic dhṛti is the unwavering steadiness that holds mind, breath and senses in Yoga; rajasic dhṛti clings, with attachment, to duty, pleasure and wealth, craving their fruit; tamasic dhṛti is the stubbornness that will not let go of sleep, fear, grief, despair and conceit. Happiness (18.36–39): sattvic sukha is “like poison at first and nectar in the end”, born of the serenity of Self-knowledge — hard at the outset, blissful at maturity; rajasic sukha is “nectar at first, poison in the end”, born of the contact of sense and object; tamasic sukha, deluding from beginning to end, springs from sleep, sloth and heedlessness. This last triad is a jewel of practical wisdom: the worthwhile joys cost effort up front and reward later (the discipline of 6.16); the cheap joys reward instantly and cost dearly after; the worthless ones are pleasant only to a dulled mind. By this test alone one can sort one’s own pleasures.