Bhagavad Gita — Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga, Shloka 26
Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga
सद्भावे साधुभावे च सदित्येतत्प्रयुज्यते । प्रशस्ते कर्मणि तथा सच्छब्दः पार्थ युज्यते ॥ १७.२६ ॥
sadbhāve sādhubhāve ca sad ity etat prayujyate | praśaste karmaṇi tathā sacchabdaḥ pārtha yujyate || 17.26 ||
The word ‘Sat’ is used in the sense of true being (existence) and of the good (noble) disposition; and likewise, O Pārtha, the word ‘Sat’ is used for a praiseworthy act.
‘सत्’ शब्द का प्रयोग परम सत्ता (सद्भाव) और शुभ भाव (साधुभाव) के अर्थ में किया जाता है; तथा हे पार्थ! प्रशंसनीय कर्म के लिए भी ‘सत्’ शब्द प्रयुक्त होता है।
‘Sat’ is used with reference to being (existence/reality) and to the state of goodness; likewise, O Pārtha, the word ‘sat’ is applied to a commendable action.
Traditional renderings often take sadbhāva as ‘God/true Being’ and sādhubhāva as ‘auspicious/virtuous disposition’; a more literal reading keeps them as ‘being’ and ‘goodness/rightness.’ No major variant is implied here beyond interpretive emphasis.
FAQs
The verse ties a wholesome mental orientation (sādhubhāva) to the language of ‘sat,’ suggesting that truthfulness and constructive intention are psychologically stabilizing and ethically meaningful.
‘Sat’ functions as a bridge between ontology (being/reality) and value (goodness), indicating that what is truly real is also treated as normatively authoritative.
It continues the chapter’s analysis of faith and ritual language (e.g., om-tat-sat), clarifying how evaluative terms classify actions and dispositions.
It can be read as guidance to align speech and evaluation with integrity: call ‘good’ what is genuinely constructive, and ground praise in ethical clarity rather than mere convention.
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