Bhagavad Gita 18.24
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 24 of 78
यत् तु कामेप्सुना कर्म साहंकारेण वा पुनः । क्रियते बहुलायासं तद् राजसम् उदाहृतम् ॥
yat tu kāmepsunā karma sāhaṃkāreṇa vā punaḥ | kriyate bahulāyāsaṃ tad rājasam udāhṛtam ||
Rājasic karma: done desiring pleasures or with ego-pride, involving great effort.
Word by word (3)
- yat tu kāmepsunā karma sāhaṃkāreṇa vā punaḥ
- — but (tu) that action (karma) done by one who desires pleasures (kāmepsunā = kāma + epsunā = pleasure-desirer, from iṣ = to desire), or (vā) again with self-conceit/ego (sa-ahaṃkāreṇa = with egoism, with I-making) — two rājasic motivations: pleasure-desire or ego-pride
- kriyate bahulāyāsaṃ tad rājasam udāhṛtam
- — performed (kriyate) with much effort/labour/exertion (bahulāyāsam = many-effort, great toil), that (tad) is declared (udāhṛtam) rājasic (rājasam) — the third marker: bahulāyāsa (much effort) indicating the strained, striving quality of rājasic action
- kāmepsuna
- — one who desires kāma (pleasure/gratification) — the rājasic actor's primary motivation is pleasure-seeking; contrast with V23's aphalaprepsunā (non-fruit-desirer)
But that action which is done by one desiring pleasures, or done with egoism, involving great effort — that is declared rājasic.
A modern analogy
Rājasic karma is the entrepreneur who works 80-hour weeks driven by personal ambition — fueled by the desire for success (kāmepsuna), proud of their achievements (sa-ahaṃkāra), straining through great effort (bahulāyāsa). The action may look similar to the sāttvic actor's, but the motivation and inner state are entirely different: personal ego-investment and reward-seeking rather than duty-clarity and attachment-freedom.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
But the action which is done by one longing for pleasures, or done by the egotistic, costing much trouble, that is declared to be Rajasic. [1]
But the action which is performed desiring desires, or with self-conceit and with much effort, is declared to be Rajasika. [4]
But that action which is done by one who is desirous of pleasures, or (done) by the egotistic, and which involves great effort, is pronounced passionate. [9]
But that action which is done with much labour by one who is desirous of pleasures or by one who is proud, is known to be of the quality of passion. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Hear My definitive word on tyāga, O best of Bharatas — tyāga has been declared three-fold, O tiger among men.
Rājasic dhṛti: holds fast to dharma, kāma, and artha with attachment, desiring the fruit of each.
Sāttvic tyāga: niyata karma done ONLY because 'this must be done,' having abandoned attachment and fruit.
Rajas — passion, thirst, attachment — binds the embodied one specifically through attachment to action.
Sāttvic yajña: performed as ordained, without fruit-desire, with the conviction 'this must be done.'
Sāttvic kartā: attachment-free, non-egotistic, firm, enthusiastic, unmoved by success or failure.
Verse 24 of 78 · back to Chapter 18