14-16

कर्मणः सुकृतस्याहुः सात्विकम् निर्मलम् फलम् ।
रजसस्तु फलम् दुःखम् अज्ञानम् तमसः फलम् ॥ १६ ॥

karmaNaH sukRtasyAhuH sAtvikam nirmalam phalam |
rajasastu phalam duHkham ajJAnam tamasaH phalam || 16 ||

फलम् [phalam] The outcome सुकृतस्य कर्मणः [sukRtasya karmaNaH] of action that’s done well आहुः [AhuH] is said to be निर्मलम् सात्विकम् [nirmalam sAtvikam] sattva , untainted by other qualities. तु [tu] On the other hand, फलम् [phalam] the outcome रजसः [rajasaH] of action driven by desire दुःखम् [duHkham] is sorrow. फलम् [phalam] The outcome तमसः [tamasaH] of lethargy अज्ञानम् [ajJAnam] is ignorance.

As described previously, a person who died with a predominance of sattva is born in a community that realizes the nature of the Self. In this birth, the person works well - without being driven by desire, purely to worship Me. The reward for this is another birth with enhanced knowledge and tranquility, untainted by any sorrow - those who know the effects of sattva vouch for this.

On the other hand, if rajas were to be predominant at the time of death, the person is born in a community that’s driven by results and desires. Being driven by desire, the person acts accordingly and is born again to experience the results of such actions. Again, he starts actions that are driven by desire. This loop of accumulation leads to a greater experience of sorrow and disappointment in the material world. This is said by people who know the true characteristics of this quality.

The outcome of lethargy is ignorance. The predominance of tamas at the time of death results in a chain of births in ignorant forms.

Next, the Lord elaborates on the rewards generated by a predominance of each of the three qualities . For example, predominance of sattva rewards one with flawlessness…