Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 14, Verse 9

सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रजः कर्मणि भारत । ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तमः प्रमादे सञ्जयत्युत

sattvaṃ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata | jñānamāvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayatyuta

Translation

Sattva attaches to happiness, Rajas to action, O Bhārata, while Tamas, enshrouding wisdom, attaches, on the contrary, to heedlessness.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

sattvam

harmony

sukhe

in pleasure

sañjayati

attacheth

rajaḥ

mobility

karmaṇi

in action

bhārata

O Bhārata

jñānam

wisdom

āvṛtya

having enveloped

tu

but

tamaḥ

inertia

pramāde

in heedlessness

sañjayati

attaches

uta

but

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Tamas, by its very nature as a veil, covers the judgment caused by Sattva and attaches one to heedlessness — i.e., to the non-performance of necessary duties.