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Tag: Guna

Guṇa (Sanskrit: गुण) means ‘string’ or ‘a single thread or strand of a cord or twine’. In more abstract uses, it may mean ‘a subdivision, species, kind, quality’, or an operational principle or tendency. In Samkhya philosophy, there are three major guṇas that serve as the fundamental operating principles or ‘tendencies’ of prakṛti (universal nature) which are called: sattva guṇa, rajas guṇa, and tamas guṇa. The three primary gunas are generally accepted to be associated with creation (sattva), preservation (rajas), and destruction (tamas) (see also Aum and Trimurti). The entire creation and its process of evolution is carried out by these three major gunas. In classical literature (for example, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana and the Bhagavad Gita), the guṇas are also associated with the five elements (mahabhutas), five senses, and five associated body parts: The Triguna appear prominently in the discourse of Krishna to Arjuna upon the battlefield of Kurukshetra that is the…