Sanskrit
तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम् । सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ ॥
tatra sattvaṃ nirmalatvāt prakāśakam anāmayam sukhasaṅgena badhnāti jñānasaṅgena cānagha
Translation
Of these Harmony from its stainlessness, luminous and healthy, bindeth by the attachment to bliss and the attachment to wisdom, O sinless one.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Sattva defined: stainless, luminous, healthy — the “best” of the three qualities by any ordinary measure. The chapter’s sharper point is that it still binds, just through more refined attachments than the other two — attachment to happiness and attachment to knowledge itself. That detail matters later: verse 19’s escape isn’t a matter of maximizing sattva over rajas and tamas, since even sattva keeps the self tethered to the body. All three gunas bind; they differ only in the quality of the leash.