---
type: Concept
bundle: cosmology-creation
bundle_version: "0.7.0"
id: trigunas-cosmological
title: "Triguṇas (Cosmological) — त्रिगुण"
iast: "Triguṇa"
devanagari: "त्रिगुण"
description: "The three fundamental strands (guṇas: Sattva / Rajas / Tamas) of Prakṛti treated in their cosmological dimension: as the constitutive qualities of manifest existence from Avyakta through all 23 tattvas; as the principle by which the Trimūrti's three cosmic functions are distributed; as the organizing force of the Yuga cycle (Satya-Yuga being Sattva-dominant, Kali-Yuga being Tamas-increasing); v0.7 treats the cosmological dimension; the yoga-darshana bundle (v0.4) treats the epistemological/psychological dimension."
darshana:
  - Sāṃkhya
  - Purāṇic
  - Vedānta
school_scope: "The Triguṇa doctrine originates in Sāṃkhya (Sāṃkhya Kārikā 11-13); adopted universally into Purāṇic cosmology; BhP uses Triguṇas to explain the Trimūrti allocation and the Yuga cycle; BG 14 gives the most systematic teaching on Guṇas and liberation from them"
text_source: "Sāṃkhya Kārikā 11-13; BhP 1.2.23; BG 14.1-27; Manu-Smṛti 12.24-50 (Guṇas and species)"
tags: [cosmology, trigunas, sattva, rajas, tamas, samkhya, trimurti, yuga, puranic]
not:
  - term: "three personality types"
    why: "The Guṇas are constitutive qualities of Prakṛti (matter-principle) at ALL levels -- from the subtlest tattva to the grossest material element. They are not primarily a personality typology. While BG 17-18 applies them to individual behavior (faith, food, sacrifice, action), this is a downstream application of a cosmological principle. The cosmological Guṇas precede and generate the psychological Guṇas, not the reverse."
  - term: "good (Sattva) / active (Rajas) / evil (Tamas)"
    why: "The Guṇas are not a moral hierarchy. Tamas is not evil; it is the quality of inertia, stability, and rest -- necessary for any manifest structure to hold form. Rajas is not morally neutral; in excess it causes craving and agitation. Even Sattva can be a bondage if attachment to clarity and peace prevents liberation. BG 14.6: 'Sattva binds through attachment to happiness and knowledge.' All three bind; liberation requires transcending all three (Triguṇātīta)."
    instead: "Translate as 'clarity-principle' (Sattva), 'activity-principle' (Rajas), 'inertia-principle' (Tamas); avoid good/evil framing."
  - term: "the same concept as the yoga-darshana v0.4 treatment"
    why: "Cross-bundle warning: yoga-darshana v0.4 treats the Guṇas primarily in their epistemological and psychological dimension (how they affect consciousness, how yoga practice shifts Guṇa dominance, how Sattva supports meditation). v0.7 treats them in their cosmological dimension (how they constitute Avyakta, how their imbalance initiates Sṛṣṭi, how they map to the Trimūrti and the Yuga cycle). Both treatments are valid; they are the same concept at different levels of analysis."
related:
  - /concepts/avyakta.md
  - /concepts/srishti.md
  - /concepts/trimurti.md
  - /concepts/yuga.md
  - /concepts/panchamahabhuta-cosmological.md
timestamp: "2026-07-01"
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Triguṇas (Cosmological) -- त्रिगुण

**Not:** three personality types, good/evil categories, identical to the yoga-darshana epistemological treatment

## The Three Guṇas in Sāṃkhya

The Sāṃkhya Kārikā (11-13) defines the three Guṇas as the constitutive strands of all Prakṛti:

- **Sattva**: the quality of clarity, luminosity, lightness, transparency; the principle by which consciousness is reflected; in equilibrium, Sattva enables clear perception; in imbalance, Sattva produces attachment to pleasure and knowledge
- **Rajas**: the quality of activity, movement, energy, passion; the driving force of Sṛṣṭi; without Rajas, neither Sattva nor Tamas would "move"; in imbalance, Rajas produces craving and agitation
- **Tamas**: the quality of inertia, heaviness, concealment, stability; without Tamas, nothing would hold form -- all would remain in constant flux; in imbalance, Tamas produces lethargy, ignorance, and obstruction

The three Guṇas are always co-present; what changes is their relative dominance. No manifest thing consists of only one Guṇa; all Prakṛti is a mixture of all three in varying proportions.

## The Cosmological Role: Avyakta and Sṛṣṭi

In Avyakta (the Unmanifest state of Prakṛti), the three Guṇas are in perfect equilibrium (sāmyāvasthā). This equilibrium is the definition of Avyakta. Sṛṣṭi begins when this equilibrium is disturbed -- in Sāṃkhya, by the proximity of Puruṣa to Prakṛti; in Vedānta, by Brahman's creative Icchā-Śakti. The disturbance triggers the differential expression of Guṇas:

1. Mahat (cosmic intellect) = Sattva predominant
2. Ahaṃkāra (cosmic ego-principle) = Rajas predominant (it is the principle of individuation)
3. Tanmātras and Mahābhūtas = Tamas increasing as grossness increases

The entire sequence from Avyakta to gross physical elements is a story of Tamas increasing, Sattva decreasing, and Rajas facilitating the transition at each stage.

## Guṇas and the Trimūrti (BhP 1.2.23)

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa's most explicit Triguṇa-cosmology statement: the three cosmic functions of the Trimūrti are Guṇa-allocated:

| Guṇa | Cosmic Function | Trimūrti Agent |
|------|----------------|----------------|
| Rajas | Sṛṣṭi (activity of creation) | Brahmā |
| Sattva | Sthiti (clarity of maintenance) | Viṣṇu |
| Tamas | Saṃhāra (inertia/dissolution) | Śiva |

This is not a value ranking (Sattva is not "better" than Tamas in this context). All three are necessary expressions of the cosmic cycle.

## Guṇas and the Yuga Cycle

The Yuga cycle can be read as a Guṇa-trajectory:

| Yuga | Guṇa Dominance | Characteristic |
|------|----------------|----------------|
| Satya Yuga | Sattva dominant | Direct perception of truth; dharma fully intact |
| Tretā Yuga | Rajas increasing | Action-oriented; ritual; partial dharma |
| Dvāpara Yuga | Rajas/Tamas mixed | Decline of direct knowledge; scripture mediates |
| Kali Yuga | Tamas dominant | Confusion, craving, conflict; dharma at minimum; greatest need for grace |

The Yuga cycle is thus a Guṇa cycle, not merely a chronological one. This is why each Yuga has different prescribed practices (yuga-dharma): the practices appropriate to a Sattva-dominant age are different from those effective in a Tamas-dominant age.

## Audience Metaphor

The three Guṇas are like the three states of water. Sattva is ice: clear, structured, allowing clear vision. Rajas is liquid water: active, flowing, able to take any form, the medium of change. Tamas is water vapor: dispersed, heavy, potentially obscuring. All are the same H2O; what changes is their configuration. The manifest cosmos is always all three simultaneously, in different proportions at different levels. Consciousness (Puruṣa/Brahman) is not water at all -- it is the light that reveals the ice, water, and vapor for what they are.

## Citations

1. Sāṃkhya Kārikā 11-13 -- definition and properties of the three Guṇas; see references/samkhya-karika.md
2. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.2.23 -- Trimūrti-Guṇa allocation (Brahmā/Rajas, Viṣṇu/Sattva, Śiva/Tamas); see references/bhagavata-purana.md
3. Bhagavad Gītā 14.1-27 -- the most systematic treatment of Guṇas and liberation from them (Triguṇātīta)
4. Manu-Smṛti 12.24-50 -- Guṇas and species differentiation across rebirths; see references/manusmriti.md
5. Cross-bundle note: the doctrinal SOURCE of the triguṇa is sankhya-darshana v0.13's guna-samkhya.md; this file is a downstream/applied treatment (cosmological dimension), not a peer or competing definition
