Chapter XVII · Śloka 26
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
सद्भावे साधुभावे च सदित्येतत्प्रयुज्यते |
प्रशस्ते कर्मणि तथा सच्छब्दः पार्थ युज्यते ||
प्रशस्ते कर्मणि तथा सच्छब्दः पार्थ युज्यते ||
sad-bhāve sādhu-bhāve ca sad ity etat prayujyate |
praśaste karmaṇi tathā sac-chabdaḥ pārtha yujyate ||
praśaste karmaṇi tathā sac-chabdaḥ pārtha yujyate ||
The word 'Sat' is used to denote existence and goodness, O Pārtha, and the word 'Sat' is also used for praiseworthy action.
Sat names reality in its truest form — both Being as such and goodness as its expression. An action called 'sat' is one that participates in that primal reality: it is real, it is good, it endures. The word carries both ontological and ethical weight simultaneously.