1 Gita Sloka Every Day - Chapter 14 - Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 16

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Adidevananda's translation of Ramanuja's  Gita  Bhashya and Swami Chidbhavananda's Bhagavad Gita, both published by Ramakrishna Mission

The ways of the three gunas are now explained

The Symptoms of the Gunas 11-18

1 Gita Sloka  Every Day - Chapter 14 - Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 16

Karmanah sukrutasya ahuh sattvikam nirmalam phalam I

Rajasah tu phalam dukham agyanam tamasah phalam II sloka 16

कर्मणः सुकृतस्य आहुः सात्त्विकम् निर्मलं फलम् I 

राजसः तु फलम् दुखम् अज्ञानं तमसः फलम् II श्लोक 16

The fruit of good action, they say, is sattvika and pure; the fruit of rajas is pain and ignorance is the fruit of tamas.

Tamas engulfs a maneither in inertia or in wicked deeds which prevent him from making upward progress. Rajas is the one instrument to save man from stagnation and leads him to prosperity. It drives him on to incessant action; but the nature of the karma is to bring misery in its train. And this misery is no ill luck. It has a great purpose to serve. Nothing else equals  misery for inducing man to soar high. In the training ground of misery he gets his character shaped. Consequently dharma emanates from him. Ultimately dharma or good conduct lifts him to sattva which is all purity and brilliance. 

In what other aspects do the gunas get themselves distinguished one from the other? The answer comes in the next sloka