Bhagavad Gita 14.7
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 7 of 27
रागआत्मकं विद्धि रजः तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् । तन् निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम् ॥
rāga-ātmakaṃ viddhi rajaḥ tṛṣṇā-saṅga-samudbhavam | tan nibadhnāti kaunteya karma-saṅgena dehinam ||
Rajas — passion, thirst, attachment — binds the embodied one specifically through attachment to action.
Word by word (3)
- rāga-ātmakam viddhi rajaḥ
- — know (viddhi) rajas to be of the very nature of passion/desire (rāga-ātmaka = having rāga as its essence)
- tṛṣṇā-saṅga-samudbhavam
- — born (samudbhava = arising from) of thirst (tṛṣṇā) and attachment (saṅga) — rajas is produced by and produces these
- tan nibadhnāti karma-saṅgena dehinam
- — it (rajas) binds (nibadhnāti) the embodied one (dehinam) through attachment to action (karma-saṅga) — O Kaunteya
Know rajas to be of the very nature of passion (rāga). It arises from thirst (tṛṣṇā) and attachment (saṅga). That guṇa, O Kaunteya, binds the embodied one through attachment to action.
A modern analogy
Rajas is the engine of ambition: it promises fulfillment through achieving, getting, winning. Each achievement generates thirst for the next. The chain is not the work itself — it is the ATTACHMENT to results. A rajas-bound person can never rest: there is always more to do, win, become.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Know thou Rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of thirst and attachment; it binds fast, O son of Kunti, the embodied one by attachment to action. [1]
[Truncated in index] Know Rajas to be of the nature of passion, giving rise to thirst and attachment; it binds fast the embodied one by attachment to action. [4]
Know that passion consists in being enamoured, and is produced from craving and attachment. That, O son of Kunti, binds the embodied soul by attachment to action. [9]
Know that passion consists in being enamoured, and is produced from craving and attachment. That, O son of Kunti, binds the embodied soul by the attachment of work. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Dying in rajas, one is born among the action-attached; dying in tamas, one is born in irrational wombs.
Sattva, rajas, tamas — three guṇas born of Prakṛti — bind the indestructible ātman in every body.
Greed, restless activity, and longing surge — know that rajas is predominant and karma-saṅga is binding.
Hear My definitive word on tyāga, O best of Bharatas — tyāga has been declared three-fold, O tiger among men.
Rājasic karma: done desiring pleasures or with ego-pride, involving great effort.
Sāttvic kartā: attachment-free, non-egotistic, firm, enthusiastic, unmoved by success or failure.
Verse 7 of 27 · back to Chapter 14