---
type: Concept
bundle: yoga-darshana
bundle_version: "0.2.0"
id: guna
title: "Guṇa-s"
iast: "Guṇa"
devanagari: "गुण"
description: "The three constituents of Prakṛti (sattva, rajas, tamas) — what Prakṛti is made of — not qualities, not energies."
darshana:
  - Pātañjala Yoga
  - Sāṃkhya
text_source: "YS 2.18-2.19, 4.13-4.14"
tags:
  - Yoga
  - Patanjali
  - Samkhya
  - sattva
  - rajas
  - tamas
  - prakriti
  - evolution
not:
  - term: "qualities"
    why: "quality in English implies an attribute of a thing; the Guṇa-s are not attributes but constituents — they are what Prakṛti is made of; the distinction is between properties-of and substance-of"
    instead: "Keep Guṇa-s untranslated; do not substitute the English term."
  - term: "traits"
    why: "traits are psychological; the Guṇa-s are ontological, operating at every level from gross matter to the subtlest intellect"
  - term: "modes"
    why: "closer, but modes implies they can exist independently; the three Guṇa-s always interpenetrate and never separate — one merely predominates"
  - term: "strands"
    why: "the rope-strand metaphor is traditional but has led to the misunderstanding that they are separate threads; they are interpenetrating forces, not separable strands"
  - term: "energies"
    why: "energy in physics is a measurable quantity; Guṇa-s are qualitative principles that precede any quantitative measurement"
related:
  - /concepts/prakriti-yoga.md
  - /concepts/sattva.md
  - /concepts/rajas.md
  - /concepts/tamas.md
  - /concepts/purusha.md
  - /concepts/chitta-vritti.md
  - /concepts/kaivalya.md
  - /concepts/samskara.md
timestamp: "2026-06-20"
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Guṇa-s — गुण

**Not:** qualities, traits, modes, strands, energies

The three constitutive principles of Prakṛti — Sattva (luminosity), Rajas (activity), and Tamas (inertia) — that in combination produce every phenomenon from gross matter to the subtlest intellect. Not qualities that things have, but the substance of what Prakṛti is.

## Etymology

- *guṇ* — to multiply, to count; also related to a thread or strand
- *guṇa* — strand, quality, virtue, constituent principle
- Plural: *guṇā-s* or, in context, simply "the three Guṇa-s"

The etymology of "strand" gave rise to the traditional rope-metaphor (three strands twisting together to form the rope of Prakṛti). The metaphor is functional but imprecise: unlike rope-strands, the three Guṇa-s cannot be separated, only rebalanced.

## The Three Guṇa-s

### Sattva — सत्त्व

- Root: *sat* — being, truth, goodness; *-tva* — abstract suffix
- Quality: luminosity, clarity, lightness, equilibrium, reflectivity
- Function in cognition: the capacity of citta to reflect Puruṣa's consciousness; the basis of all knowledge, discernment, and calm awareness
- When predominant: clarity, joy, equanimity, discriminative insight
- When excessive: subtle attachment to knowledge and happiness (which are still Prakṛtic)

See [Sattva](sattva.md) for full treatment.

### Rajas — रजस्

- Root: *rañj* — to color, to be passionate; *rajas* — dust, atmosphere, passion
- Quality: activity, dynamism, passion, restlessness, change
- Function in cognition: the power that moves citta from state to state; the basis of all desire, effort, and motion
- When predominant: ambition, creativity, agitation, craving, attachment to outcomes
- When excessive: compulsive activity, anxiety, inability to rest in awareness

See [Rajas](rajas.md) for full treatment.

### Tamas — तमस्

- Root: *tam* — to become exhausted, to stifle; *tamas* — darkness
- Quality: inertia, heaviness, obscuration, stability, resistance
- Function in cognition: the principle of holding-form; without Tamas, nothing would have shape or persistence
- When predominant: dullness, sleep, ignorance, habit-bound behavior
- Positive function: provides the stability for Sattva to operate; too much Rajas without Tamas produces chaotic oscillation

See [Tamas](tamas.md) for full treatment.

## How the Guṇa-s Interact

The three Guṇa-s never exist in pure isolation. In every phenomenon — a thought, a food, a time of day, a social interaction — all three are present; one merely predominates:

- **Sattva predominant:** Rajas and Tamas are present but subdued
- **Rajas predominant:** Sattva and Tamas suppressed by activity
- **Tamas predominant:** Sattva and Rajas subdued by inertia

Yoga practice (*abhyāsa*) and dispassion (*vairāgya*) progressively shift the predominance from Tamas → Rajas → Sattva. But Sattva is not the final goal — even Sattvic citta must be transcended in asamprajñāta samādhi, because even clarity and knowledge are Prakṛtic (they belong to buddhi, not to Puruṣa).

## Patañjali's Guṇa Framework (YS 4.13-4.14)

*pariṇāmaikatvaādvastutattvam* (YS 4.14)  
"The unity of transformation produces the reality of an object."

Patañjali acknowledges the Sāṃkhya position: objects are real because they are genuine transformations of Prakṛti. The changing proportions of the three Guṇa-s in a given moment produce the particular character (*svarūpa*) of that moment's object or experience. This is the Guṇa-theory of ontology.

## Guṇa-s in Citta

The practical relevance of the Guṇa-theory for yoga is in the citta:

- A Tamas-dominant citta produces dullness, distraction, sleep in meditation
- A Rajas-dominant citta produces agitation, topic-jumping, attachment to meditation results
- A Sattva-dominant citta produces the clarity needed for viveka-khyāti to arise

The eight-limb path is partly a Guṇa-management protocol: yama-niyama reduce Rajas and Tamas, āsana-prāṇāyāma purify the body-channel, pratyāhāra withdraws energy from Rajasic objects, dhāraṇā-dhyāna-samādhi progressively Sattvify citta until Sattva is thin enough for Puruṣa to be seen distinctly.

## Cross-References

- [Prakṛti (Yoga)](prakriti-yoga.md) — the Guṇa-s are constitutive of Prakṛti; they are what Prakṛti is made of
- [Sattva](sattva.md) — the luminous Guṇa
- [Rajas](rajas.md) — the active Guṇa
- [Tamas](tamas.md) — the inert Guṇa
- [Citta-Vṛtti](chitta-vritti.md) — citta's modifications are Guṇa-combinations in motion
- [Kaivalya](kaivalya.md) — liberation; when the Guṇa-s have fulfilled their purpose for Puruṣa, they return to equilibrium

## Audience Metaphor

The three Guṇa-s are like the three primary colors of light (red, green, blue): every visible color — every experience, every object, every thought — is a combination of these three in different proportions. There is no such thing as 'pure Sattva' in the manifest world, just as there is no monochromatic light in natural light. But you can turn a dimmer that increases Sattva's share in the mix — and the quality of perception, decision-making, and practice changes accordingly.

## Citations

1. [Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali](/references/yoga-sutras.md) 2.18-2.19, 4.13-4.14
2. [Sāṃkhya Kārikā](/references/samkhya-karika.md) of Īśvarakṛṣṇa (kārikā 12-16)
3. [Yoga Bhāṣya of Vyāsa](/references/yoga-bhasya.md) on YS 2.18
4. [Bhagavad Gītā](/references/bhagavad-gita.md) Chs. 14, 17, 18 (Guṇa-traya vibhāga)
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 (epistemological-psychological dimension), not a peer or competing definition
