Chapter 14, Verse 12
लोभः प्रवृत्तिरारम्भः कर्मणामशमः स्पृहा | रजस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे भरतर्षभ ||१४-१२||
lobhaḥ pravṛttirārambhaḥ karmaṇāmaśamaḥ spṛhā . rajasyetāni jāyante vivṛddhe bharatarṣabha ||14-12||
Meaning
14.12 Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, restlessness, longing these arise when Rajas is predominant, O Arjuna.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna lists the telltale signs of rajas, so that Arjuna may recognise it in himself. When rajas swells, five symptoms appear: lobha (greed), pravṛtti (compulsive activity), ārambha (the constant launching of new ventures), aśama (an inner restlessness that finds no peace), and spṛhā (a hungry longing for more). Together they paint the portrait of the driven, never-satisfied life.
The modern reader meets this state daily — the endless to-do list, the itch to start one more project, the inability to sit still, the quiet greed for advancement. The Gita does not condemn energy or accomplishment; it warns against the restlessness underneath them, the inner unease that no achievement quiets. To notice these signs is not to abandon work but to ask: am I acting from clear purpose, or from a craving that will never be filled? That single question begins to loosen the rajasic grip.
💡 Key Takeaway
Greed, busyness, and restless craving are the fingerprints of rajas — spot them and ask whether you act from purpose or from hunger.
Related Verses
सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसम्भवाः | निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् ||१४-५||
sattvaṃ rajastama iti guṇāḥ prakṛtisambhavāḥ . nibadhnanti mahābāho dehe dehinamavyayam ||14-5||
14.5 Purity, passion and inertia these alities, O Arjuna, born of Nature, bind fast in the body, the embodied, the indestructible.
तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम् | सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ ||१४-६||
tatra sattvaṃ nirmalatvātprakāśakamanāmayam . sukhasaṅgena badhnāti jñānasaṅgena cānagha ||14-6||
14.6 Of these, Sattva, which from its stainlessness is luminous and healthy, binds by attachment to happiness and by attachment to knowledge, O sinless one.
रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् | तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम् ||१४-७||
rajo rāgātmakaṃ viddhi tṛṣṇāsaṅgasamudbhavam . tannibadhnāti kaunteya karmasaṅgena dehinam ||14-7||
14.7 Know thou Rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of thirst (for sensual enjoyment) and attachment; it binds fast, O Arjuna, the embodied one by attachment to action.