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This article is about the Indian philosophical concept "Guna". For other uses, see Guna (disambiguation).

Guṇa (Sanskrit: गुण) depending on the context means 'string, thread or strand', or 'virtue, merit, excellence', or 'quality, peculiarity, attribute, property'.[1][2]


In some contexts, it may mean 'a subdivision, species, kind, quality', or an operational principle or tendency of something or someone.[5] In human behavior studies, Guna means personality, innate nature and psychological attributes of an individual.[6][7][8]



Guna appears in many ancient and medieval era Indian texts. Depending on the context, it means:[10][11][12]

  • string or thread, rope, sinew, chord (music, vowel phonology and arts literature)[13][14]
  • virtue, merit, excellence (dharma and soteriological literature)[15][12]
The root and origins

Guṇa is both a root and a word in Sanskrit language. Its different context-driven meanings are derived from either the root or the word. In verse VI.36 of Nirukta by Yāska, a 1st millennium BC text on Sanskrit grammar and language that preceded Panini, Guṇa is declared to be derived from the another root Gaṇa,[17] which means "to count, enumerate".[18] This meaning has led to its use in speciation, subdivision, classification of anything by peculiarity, attribute or property. This meaning has also led to its use with prefixes such as Dviguna (twofold), Triguna (threefold) and so on.


In the context of philosophy, morality and understanding nature, "Guna-" with more dental na takes the meaning of addressing quality, substance, tendency and property.[18][12] In abstract discussion, it includes all hues of qualities - desirable, neutral or undesirable; but if unspecified, it is assumed with good faith to be good and divine in Indian philosophy. Thus, Guṇi from the root "Guṇa-" means someone or something with "divine qualities", as in Svetasvatara Upanishad hymn VI.2.[18]


Innate qualities and tendencies are key ancient concepts in Indian literature. Maitrayaniya Upanishad is one of the earliest texts making an explicit reference to Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and linking them to their Guna - as creator/activity, preserver/purity, destroyer/recycler respectively.[20] The idea of three types of guna, innate nature and forces that together transform and keep changing the world is, however, found in numerous earlier and later Indian texts.[21]

Samkhya school of Hinduism[edit]

In Samkhya philosophy, a guṇa is one of three "tendencies, qualities": sattva, rajas and tamas. This category of qualities haave been widely adopted by various schools of Hinduism for categorizing behavior and natural phenomena. The three qualities are:

  • Rajas is the quality of passion, activity, neither good nor bad and sometimes either, self centeredness, egoistic, individualizing, driven, moving, dynamic.[4][23]



The balance of Gunas of everything and everyone can change and does. However, change in one quality faces inertia from other two qualities in Indian worldview. Change needs internal or external influence or reinforcement, as knowledge and force to transform. The force to change comes from Rajas guna, while Sattva guna empower towards harmonious and constructive change, while Tamas guna checks or retards the process.


Nyaya school of Hinduism[edit]




Vaisheshika school of Hinduism[edit]


Gangesha, a Nyaya school scholar, suggests a somewhat different theory, stating that our awareness is of two types - true awareness and false awareness. True awareness is produced when we seek to observe some excellence (guna) in its cause, while false awareness results from observing fault (dosha) in its cause. In other words, in Gangesha's perspective, the observer's state of mind and attitude affects relational awareness.[28]

Bhagavad Gita[edit]

Chapters 3, 7, 13, 14, 17 and 18 of Bhagavad Gita discuss Guna.[29] Verse 17.2 refers to the three Guna - sattvic, rajasic and tamasic - as innate nature (psychology or personality of an individual).[30][31] Sattvic guna is one driven by what is pure, truth, compassionate, without craving, doing the right because it is right, positive and good. Tamasic guna is one driven by what is impure, dark, destructive, aimed to hurt another, contemptuous, negative and vicious. Rajasic guna is one that is ego-driven, out of personal passion, active, ostentatious, seeking the approval of others.[29][31]

In Chapters 17 and 18, Bhagavad Gita illustrates various items and actions by their three Guna. For example, three types of charity are discussed, and what makes charity as Sattvic, Rajasic or Tamasic. Similarly, food, relationships, knowledge and actions are detailed in terms of the three Guna.[29] In Chapter 18, for example:[32]

नियतं सङ्गरहितमरागद्वेषतः कृतम् । अफलप्रेप्सुना कर्म यत्तत्सात्त्विकमुच्यते ॥२३॥
अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनपेक्ष्य च पौरुषम् । मोहादारभ्यते कर्म यत्तत्तामसमुच्यते ॥२५॥

—Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18, verses 23–25 [32]


Guna in theory of ethics[edit]

Guna is one of the four important elements in the framework of ethical theories in Indian philosophy.[4][34] Bommer et al suggest that ethical/non-ethical behavior is an outcome of individual attributes, personal environment, social environment and institutional rules and laws.[35] Guna theory is the ancient Indian philosophy on individual attributes, while the theories of Dharma and Ashramas address the personal and social environment, as well as part of its institutional framework. Guna theory, states Crawford,[34] represents a hierarchical theory of values, where the relative order of hierarchy is suggested to vary within each individual along with the relative proportion of each guna. The interplay of three gunas affect an individual's values, and in Hindu worldview, these values affect individual's actions, as well as the happiness and serenity experienced by the individual.[3][36][37] The gunas are not considered as static and set. Hindu literature, such as the Bhagavad Gita, state it to be dynamic and changeable with knowledge, introspection and understanding of sva-dharma. Realizing one's sva-dharma and Self, is emphasized in Indian ethical theories. The highest state of existence and bliss, in Advaita school of Hinduism for example, is jivanmukti (Self realization) and moksha.[38][39]

Guna theory's perspective on values constituting human personality has uniqueness yet is congruent with other ethical theories.[40]

Guna in other contexts[edit]

Sanskrit grammar[edit]

In the Sanskrit grammatical tradition (Vyakarana), guṇa is an ancient language innovation that strengthens vowel-stems, making it more visually palpable when written and more musically resonant when heard.[14] Dwight states that the use of guna makes the Sanskrit language more dynamical, bringing out into relief the idea expressed, given its complexity; in other words, the use of guna in Sanskrit adds depth and sophistication in its phonetic delivery as well as intellectual structure.[14] These innovations are not unique to Sanskrit, but also found in Greek, Latin, Italian and to some extent Russian.[41] Guna and other rules of language for Sanskrit are described by Pāṇini in his Ashtadhyayi.[42]






There are three guṇas that were present from the origin of primal matter (universe, Prakrti), are present in all things and beings in the world, and it is their interplay that defines the character and nature. 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/transformation (tamas). The entire creation and its process of evolution is carried out by these three major gunas.[5][45]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ guna Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany
  2. ^ guNa Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany
  6. ^ S Elankumaran (2004), Personality, organizational climate and job involvement: An empirical study, Journal of Human Values, 10(2): 117-130
  7. ^ S Deshpande et al (2009), A randomized control trial of the effect of yoga on Gunas (personality) and Self esteem in normal healthy volunteers, International Journal of Yoga, 2(1): 13-21, PMC 3017961
  8. ^ S Shilpa & C Murthy (2011), Understanding personality from Ayurvedic perspective for psychological assessment: A case, Ayu, 32(1): 12-19, PMC 3215408
  11. ^ guNa Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany
  12. ^ a b c d Gerald James Larson and Ram Shankar Bhattacharya (2014), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies - Samkhya, A Dualist Tradition in Indian Philosophy, Volume 4, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691604411, pages 65-66
  16. ^ K Klostermaier (1984), Time in Patañjali's" Yogasūtra", Philosophy East and West, 34(2): 205-210
  17. ^ gaNana Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Germany
  19. ^ tattva Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany
  21. ^ a b Jan Gonda (1968), "The Hindu Trinity", Anthropos, 63, pages 215-219
  27. ^ a b Karl H. Potter and Sibajiban Bhattacharya (1994), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume 6: Indian Philosophical Analysis, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691073842, pages 15-24
  28. ^ Karl H. Potter and Sibajiban Bhattacharya (1994), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume 6: Indian Philosophical Analysis, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691073842, pages 97-117
  29. ^ a b c Christopher Key Chapple, The Bhagavad Gita: Twenty-fifth–Anniversary Edition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-1438428420, pages 185-194, 330-332, 634-661
  31. ^ a b Gideon Arulmani et al (2014), Handbook of Career Development: International Perspectives, Springer, ISBN 978-1461494591, pages 139-143
  34. ^ a b S. Cromwell Crawford (2003), Chapter: Hindu Ethics, in Hindu Bioethics for the Twenty-first Century, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791457801, pages 11-30
  36. ^ N Pani (2009), Hinduism, in Handbook of Economics and Ethics (Editors: Jan Peil and Irene Staveren), Edward Elgar, ISBN 978-1845429362, 216-221

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