Faith has a guna-quality.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
श्रीभगवानुवाच |त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा |सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चेति तां शृणु ||१७-२||
śrībhagavānuvāca . trividhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṃ sā svabhāvajā . sāttvikī rājasī caiva tāmasī ceti tāṃ śṛṇu ||17-2||
Use this verse to classify faith by guna.
Meaning
The Blessed Lord said: The faith of embodied beings, born of their nature, is of three kinds: sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. Hear about it.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Faith reflects one’s inner nature and can be sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna explains that faith is not just what one says they believe. It arises from inner conditioning, temperament, habits, and dominant guna. This makes faith measurable through behavior.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna answers by lifting the discussion to its root. Faith (shraddha) is not a single, uniform thing; it is svabhava-ja — born of one's own conditioned nature. The dispositions a person carries from past tendencies and present habits shape the very texture of their belief.
Thus faith too is threefold, coloured by the three gunas: sattvic faith is luminous and aligned with truth, rajasic faith is driven by desire and ambition, and tamasic faith is clouded by delusion.
This is a profound reframing of Arjuna's question. Krishna does not simply rank people who ignore scripture; he reveals that everyone has faith of some kind, and its quality flows from the inner state of the believer. Understanding which guna governs our faith becomes the first step toward purifying and elevating it.
In daily life
Observe the quality of your faith through your actions and choices.
A person may claim devotion, but if it produces pride or laziness, its guna needs review.
Try this today
Notice one behavior that reveals your current faith-quality.
My faith becomes clearer when I observe my nature.Reflect
What quality does my faith produce in me?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘तामसी’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on nature, in other chapters
- Verse 3.5You cannot escape action because nature keeps you moving — so make your action conscious and selfless rather than trying to stop it.
- Verse 7.12All your shifting moods arise within the Divine, yet the Divine remains untouched — learn to witness your states rather than be ruled by them.
- Verse 14.5Your moods of clarity, drive, and dullness belong to Nature, not to the changeless Self you truly are.
- Verse 13.20All your changing moods and traits belong to nature, not to the unchanging witness that you truly are.
Swipe left for 17.3 · Your faith shapes your identity.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 17.2
Who says Bhagavad Gita 17.2, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 17.2, in Chapter 17, Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga (Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 17.2 mean?
The Blessed Lord said: The faith of embodied beings, born of their nature, is of three kinds: sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. Hear about it. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 17.2 for daily life?
Observe the quality of your faith through your actions and choices. A person may claim devotion, but if it produces pride or laziness, its guna needs review.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 17.2 mean?
त्रिविधा — threefold; भवति — is, becomes; श्रद्धा — faith; देहिनाम् — of the embodied beings; सा स्वभावजा — born of their own nature.
Where does verse 17.2 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 2 of 28 in Chapter 17, Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 17.3.