Chapter 18, Verse 31
यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च | अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ राजसी ||१८-३१||
yayā dharmamadharmaṃ ca kāryaṃ cākāryameva ca . ayathāvatprajānāti buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī ||18-31||
Meaning
18.31 That, by which one wrongly understands Dharma and Adharma and also what ought to be done and what ought not to be done that intellect, O Arjuna, is Rajasic (passionate).
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Rajasic buddhi is the intellect that grasps right and wrong, duty and non-duty, but ayathavat — imperfectly, in a distorted way. It is not wholly blind; it sees, but its vision is warped by desire and bias so that judgments come out skewed.
This is the clever but compromised mind. Colored by passion and self-interest, it rationalizes what it wants and explains away what it should do. It can construct convincing arguments for the wrong course because craving bends its perception. The danger of rajasic intellect lies precisely in its half-light: confident enough to act, yet too clouded by desire to discern dharma truly.
💡 Key Takeaway
A passion-clouded mind sees right and wrong but distorts them to fit its desires.
Related Verses
दुःखमित्येव यत्कर्म कायक्लेशभयात्त्यजेत् | स कृत्वा राजसं त्यागं नैव त्यागफलं लभेत् ||१८-८||
duḥkhamityeva yatkarma kāyakleśabhayāttyajet . sa kṛtvā rājasaṃ tyāgaṃ naiva tyāgaphalaṃ labhet ||18-8||
18.8 He who abandons action on account of the fear of bodily trouble (because it is painful), does not obtain the merit of renunciation by doing such Rajasic renunciation.
पृथक्त्वेन तु यज्ज्ञानं नानाभावान्पृथग्विधान् | वेत्ति सर्वेषु भूतेषु तज्ज्ञानं विद्धि राजसम् ||१८-२१||
pṛthaktvena tu yajjñānaṃ nānābhāvānpṛthagvidhān . vetti sarveṣu bhūteṣu tajjñānaṃ viddhi rājasam ||18-21||
18.21 But that knowledge which sees in all beings various entities of distinct kinds as different from one another know thou that knowledge to be Rajasic.
यत्तु कामेप्सुना कर्म साहंकारेण वा पुनः | क्रियते बहुलायासं तद्राजसमुदाहृतम् ||१८-२४||
yattu kāmepsunā karma sāhaṃkāreṇa vā punaḥ . kriyate bahulāyāsaṃ tadrājasamudāhṛtam ||18-24||
18.24 But that action which is done by one longing for the fulfilment of desires or gain with egoism or with much effort that is declared to be Rajasic (passionate).