VERSE 36-37
सुखं त्विदानीं त्रिविधं श्रृणु मे भरतर्षभ।
अभ्यासाद्रमते यत्र दुःखान्तं च निगच्छति॥
यत्तदग्रे विषमिव परिणामेऽमृतोपमम्‌।
तत्सुखं सात्त्विकं प्रोक्तमात्मबुद्धिप्रसादजम्‌॥

sukham tv idanim tri-vidham
srnu me bharatarsabha
abhyasad ramate yatra
duhkhantam ca nigacchati
yat tad agre visam iva
pariname ‘mrtopamam
tat sukham sattvikam proktam
atma-buddhi-prasada-jam

SYNONYMS
sukham—happiness; tu—but; idānīm—now; tri-vidham—of three kinds; śhṛiṇu—hear; me—from me; bharata-ṛiṣhabha—Arjun, the best of the Bharatas; abhyāsāt—by practice; ramate—rejoices; yatra—in which; duḥkha-antam—end of all suffering; cha—and; nigachchhati—reaches; yat—which; tat—that; agre—at first; viṣham iva—like poison; pariṇāme—in the end; amṛita-upamam—like nectar; tat—that; sukham—happiness; sāttvikam—in the mode of goodness; proktam—is said to be; ātma-buddhi—situated in self-knowledge; prasāda-jam—generated by the pure intellect.

TRANSLATION
O best of the Bhāratas, now please hear from Me about the three kinds of happiness which the conditioned soul enjoys, and by which he sometimes comes to the end of all distress. That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.

VERSE 38
विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगाद्यत्तदग्रेऽमृतोपमम्‌।
परिणामे विषमिव तत्सुखं राजसं स्मृतम्‌॥

visayendriya-samyogad
yat tad agre ‘mrtopamam
pariname visam iva
tat sukham rajasam smrtam

SYNONYMS
viṣaya—objects of sense; indriya—senses; saṁyogāt—combination; yat—that; tat—which; agre—in the beginning; amṛta-upamam—just like nectar; pariṇāme—at the end; viṣam iva—like poison; tat—that; sukham—happiness; rājasam—in the mode of passion; smṛtam—is considered.

TRANSLATION
That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion.

VERSE 39
यदग्रे चानुबन्धे च सुखं मोहनमात्मनः।
निद्रालस्यप्रमादोत्थं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्‌॥

yad agre canubandhe ca
sukham mohanam atmanah
nidralasya-pramadottham
tat tamasam udahrtam

SYNONYMS
yat—that which; agre—in the beginning; ca—also; anubandhe—by binding; ca—also; sukham—happiness; mohanam—illusion; ātmanaḥ—of the self; nidrā—sleeping; ālasya—laziness; pramāda—illusion; uttham—produced of; tat—that; tāmasam—in the mode of ignorance; udāhṛtam—is said to be.

TRANSLATION
And that happiness which is blind to self-realization, which is delusion from beginning to end and which arises from sleep, laziness and illusion is said to be of the nature of ignorance.

VERSE 40
न तदस्ति पृथिव्यां वा दिवि देवेषु वा पुनः।
सत्त्वं प्रकृतिजैर्मुक्तं यदेभिःस्यात्त्रिभिर्गुणैः॥

na tad asti prthivyam va
divi devesu va punah
sattvam prakrti-jair muktam
yad ebhih syat tribhir gunaih

SYNONYMS
na—not; tat—that; asti—there is; pṛthivyām—within the universe; vā—or; divi—in the higher planetary system; deveṣu—amongst the demigods; vā—or; punaḥ—again; sattvam—existence; prakṛti-jaiḥ—under the influence of material nature; muktam—liberated; yat—that; ebhiḥ—by this; syāt—so becomes; tribhiḥ—by three; guṇaiḥ—modes of material nature.

TRANSLATION
There is no being existing, either here or among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, which is freed from the three modes of material nature.

VERSE 41
ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परन्तप।
कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि स्वभावप्रभवैर्गुणैः॥

brahmana-ksatriya-visam
sudranam ca parantapa
karmani pravibhaktani
svabhava-prabhavair gunaih

SYNONYMS
brāhmaṇa—the brāhmaṇas; kṣatriya—the kṣatriyas; viśām—the vaiśyas; śūdrāṇām—the śūdras; ca—and; parantapa—O subduer of the enemies; karmāṇi—activities; pravibhaktāni—are divided; svabhāva—own nature; prabhavaiḥ—born of; guṇaiḥ—by the modes of material nature.

TRANSLATION
Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras are distinguished by their qualities of work, O chastiser of the enemy, in accordance with the modes of nature.