Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18, Verse 24

Contents

1 यत्तुकामेप्सुना कर्म साहङ्कारेण वा पुन: |
2 क्रियते बहुलायासं तद्राजसमुदाहृतम् ||
3 भावार्थ:
4 Translation

यत्तुकामेप्सुना कर्म साहङ्कारेण वा पुन: |

क्रियते बहुलायासं तद्राजसमुदाहृतम् ||

yat tu kāmepsunā karma sāhankāreṇa vā punaḥ
kriyate bahulāyāsaṁ tad rājasam udāhṛitam

भावार्थ:

परन्तु जो कर्म बहुत परिश्रम से युक्त होता है तथा भोगों को चाहने वाले पुरुष द्वारा या अहंकारयुक्त पुरुष द्वारा किया जाता है, वह कर्म राजस कहा गया है॥24॥

Translation

Action that is prompted by selfish desire, enacted with pride, and full of stress, is in the nature of passion.

English Translation Of Sri Shankaracharya’s Sanskrit Commentary By Swami Gambirananda

18.24 But tat, that; karma, action; udahrtam, is said to be; rajasam, born of rajas; yat, which; is kriyate, done; kamepsuna by one desirous of results; va, or; saahankarena, by one who is egotistic; and bahulaayasam, which is highly strenuous, accomplished by the agent with great effort.

‘Egotistic’ is not used in contrast to knowledge of Truth. What then? It is used in contrast to the absence of egotism in an ordinary person versed in the Vedic path. For in the case of the knower of the Self, who is not egotistic in the real sense, there is no estion of his being desirous of results or of being an agent of actions reiring great effort. Even of actions born of sattva, the agent is one who has not realized the Self and is possessed of egoism; what to speak of actions born of rajas and tamas! In common parlance, a person versed in the Vedic path, even though not possessing knowledge of the Self, is spoken of as being free from egotism thus-‘This Brahmana is free from egotism’. Therefore, ‘sahan-karena va’ is said in contrast to him only. Punah (again) is used to complete the meter.

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