guna

American  

[goon-uh] / ˈgʊn ə /

noun

1. (in Sankhya and Vedantic philosophy) one of the three qualities of prakriti, or nature, which are passion rajas, dullness or inertia tamas, and goodness or purity sattva.

---

Etymology

Origin of guna

First recorded in 1860–65, guna is from the Sanskrit word guṇa thread, quality

Example Sentences

He quickly texted the link to a colleague, adding: “Dudeeee. This is guna be what it is.”

From Science Magazine • Nov. 21, 2023

Black peppercorn is bought whole and pounded using a standing mortar and pestle, called a guna, every time it's used.

From Salon • Jul. 12, 2021

It depends on the 5th—Manas or Ahankara, the "I"—to thin the guna, "rope," into one thread—the sattwa; and thus by becoming one with the "unevolved evolver," win immortality or eternal conscious existence.

From Five Years of Theosophy by Various

The quality that we call immutability in Purusha is taken up by, or reflected, in the guna called Tamas—inertia, and shows itself out as will or desire in Prakriti.

From An Introduction to Yoga by Besant, Annie Wood

The argumentation of the Sâ@nkhyas that the pradhâna may be called all-knowing on account of knowledge constituting an attribute of the guna Goodness is inadmissible.

From The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Sankaracarya Sacred Books of the East, Volume 1 by Thibaut, George