SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
SlOkam – Original
rajas thamaS chAbhibhUya sathvam bhavathi bhAratha |
raja: sathvam thamaS chaiva thama: sathvam rajas thathA ||
word-by-word meaning
bhAratha – Oh descendant of bharatha!
(among the three qualities in the body)
raja: thama: cha abhibhUya – overpowering rajO guNam and thamO guNam
sathvam bhavathi – sathvam is predominant (at times);
sathvam thama: cha (abhibhUya) – overpowering sathva guNam and thamO guNam
raja: Eva (bhavathi) – rajas alone is predominant (at times);
raja: sathvam thathA thathA (abhibhUya) – overpowering rajO guNam and sathva guNam in the same manner
thama: Eva (bhavathi) – thamas is predominant (at times).
Simple Translation
Oh descendant of bharatha! (Among the three qualities in the body) Overpowering rajO guNam and thamO guNam, sathvam is predominant (at times); overpowering sathva guNam and thamO guNam, rajas is predominant (at times); overpowering rajO guNam and sathva guNam thamas is predominant (at times) in the same manner.
Rendering based on ALkoNdavilli gOvindhAchArya swAmy’s English translation of gIthA bhAshyam
‘Overpowering Rajas and Tamas, Bharata! Satvam prevails; Rajas, similarly, over Satvam and Tamas; and Tamas, over Satvam and Rajas.’
It is admitted that all the three, Satvam etc., are qualities attaching to matter-bound Souls. But owing to conditions imposed by past karma, and determined further by the varieties of food eaten for supporting the body, Satvam and other qualities so exist as one to predominate over the other, or working at cross purposes to each other; sometimes Satvam subordinating Rajas and Tamas, sometimes Rajas, and at other times Tamas.
That such is the case has to be inferred from the knowledge we have of (visible) effects (produced thereby):
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