Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 11

Akrūra’s Prayers (Akrūra-stuti): The Lord as Cause of Causes, Virāṭ, and the Goal of All Paths

Devanagari script

सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति भवत: प्रकृतेर्गुणा: । तेषु हि प्राकृता: प्रोता आब्रह्मस्थावरादय: ॥ ११ ॥

Transliteration

sattvaṁ rajas tama iti bhavataḥ prakṛter guṇāḥ teṣu hi prākṛtāḥ protā ā-brahma-sthāvarādayaḥ

Translation

Goodness, passion and ignorance, the qualities of Your material nature, entangle all conditioned living beings, from Brahmā down to the nonmoving creatures.

Synonyms

• sattvam: sattva (goodness)
• sattvam: Viśeṣya (विशेष्य/Member of enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sattva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुṁsaka (Neuter/नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā (Nominative), Ekavacana

• rajaḥ: rajas (passion)
• rajaḥ: Viśeṣya (विशेष्य/Member of enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुṁsaka (Neuter), Prathamā, Ekavacana; pada-form with visarga (rajaḥ)

• tamaḥ: tamas (darkness)
• tamaḥ: Viśeṣya (विशेष्य/Member of enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुṁsaka (Neuter), Prathamā, Ekavacana; pada-form with visarga (tamaḥ)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, quotative particle (इति)

• bhavataḥ: of you
• bhavataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga (Masculine), Ṣaṣṭhī (Genitive/षष्ठी), Ekavacana

• prakṛteḥ: of (your) nature
• prakṛteḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prakṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Ṣaṣṭhī (Genitive), Ekavacana

• guṇāḥ: qualities
• guṇāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nominative), Bahuvacana

• teṣu: in them
• teṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma, Puṁliṅga/Napuṁsaka (contextual), Saptamī (Locative/सप्तमी), Bahuvacana

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle), emphasis/causal

• prākṛtāḥ: material/pertaining to prakṛti
• prākṛtāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier of ‘ādayaḥ’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prākṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• protāḥ: are strung/woven (into them)
• protāḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Predicative (विशेषण as predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prota (कृदन्त; √ve/√vī with pra-, ‘to weave/string’)
• Form: Puṁliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā, Bahuvacana; Past passive participle (क्त/कृदन्त) meaning ‘strung/woven’

• ā-brahma-sthāvara-ādayaḥ: (beings) from Brahmā down to immovables and others
• ā-brahma-sthāvara-ādayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ā (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + sthāvara (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā, Bahuvacana; Samāsa: dvandva/itaretara-like enumeration with range-marker ‘ā-’ = ‘from ... up to ...’; ‘ādayaḥ’ = ‘and others’

Characters & Entities

• Akrūra
• Brahmā

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about sattva, rajas, and tamas?

This verse states that goodness, passion, and ignorance are the modes of the Lord’s material nature, and all conditioned beings are bound within them.

Why does Akrūra mention Brahmā down to the immovable beings in his prayers?

Akrūra emphasizes that the entire hierarchy of embodied life—from the highest creator-god Brahmā to plants and other immovables—remains conditioned by the gunas, highlighting the Lord’s supremacy over material nature.

Practical application of the three gunas in modern life?

Recognize how goodness, passion, and ignorance shape thoughts and habits, and cultivate sattva while practicing bhakti to transcend all three modes.