Chapter XIV · Śloka 18
ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः ।
जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसाः ॥
जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसाः ॥
ūrdhvaṃ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ |
jaghaṇya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ ||
jaghaṇya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ ||
Those established in sattva go upward; those in rajas remain in the middle; and those abiding in the function of the lowest guṇa — tamas — go downward.
The cosmological hierarchy mirrors the inner hierarchy: sattvic souls ascend to higher planes, rajasic souls cycle through the human mid-range, and tamasic souls descend into lower forms of existence.