Verse 1
Strike down the strands with clarity· Verses 1–7
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणा बुद्धेर्न चात्मनः ।सत्त्वेनान्यतमौ हन्यात्सत्त्वं सत्त्वेन चैव हि
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1Bhagavan said: Clarity, passion and darkness are strands of the understanding and not of the self. With clarity one should strike down the other two, and clarity itself with clarity. 2From clarity grown strong, a man comes to a dharma that has devotion to me for its mark. By serving what is clear, clarity comes; and out of that, dharma goes forward. 3Dharma strikes down passion and darkness, and where clarity grows there is nothing higher. When both of them are struck down, the wrongdoing that was rooted in them quickly perishes. 4Scripture, water, the people about one, the place, the time, work, birth, meditation, mantra, and the rites that shape a life: these ten bring on a strand.
5Of each of these, whatever the elders speak well of is clear; whatever they condemn is dark; and whatever they pass over is of passion. 6A man should keep to what is clear, so that clarity may grow. From that comes dharma, and from dharma knowledge, until remembrance and the sweeping away. 7The fire born from the rubbing of bamboo burns that forest and then goes out. So the body, born from the crossing of the strands, goes out when its work is done.