Result-obsession makes the doer rajasic.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
रागी कर्मफलप्रेप्सुर्लुब्धो हिंसात्मकोऽशुचिः |हर्षशोकान्वितः कर्ता राजसः परिकीर्तितः ||१८-२७||
rāgī karmaphalaprepsurlubdho hiṃsātmako.aśuciḥ . harṣaśokānvitaḥ kartā rājasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ ||18-27||
Use this verse when results control your mood.
Meaning
The doer who is attached, desires the fruits of action, greedy, harmful, impure, and subject to joy and sorrow is called rajasic.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
A rajasic doer is attached to results, greedy, reactive, and emotionally unstable.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna describes the doer trapped in outcome obsession. Such a person becomes excited by gain, crushed by loss, and may harm others for success.
Read the traditional commentary
The rajasic doer is ruled by passion and the relentless craving for results. He is greedy (lubdha), willing to harm others (himsatmaka) to get his way, impure in conduct, and tossed constantly between elation and grief as fortune rises and falls.
This is the portrait of the driven, restless achiever whose inner peace is hostage to outcomes. Because his sense of self rides on results, every gain brings a spike of joy and every setback a plunge into sorrow. The harsha-shoka, the perpetual swing between delight and despair, is the unmistakable mark of one whose work springs from desire rather than calm duty.
In daily life
Watch greed, harm, and mood swings around results.
A salesperson may become manipulative when bonus obsession overtakes ethics.
Try this today
Identify one result attachment and one ethical boundary.
I choose ethics over result-obsession.Reflect
Where does result-desire make me reactive or unfair?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘कर्मफलप्रेप्सुः’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on greed, in other chapters
- Verse 14.12Greed, busyness, and restless craving are the fingerprints of rajas — spot them and ask whether you act from purpose or from hunger.
- Verse 16.12Unchecked craving binds us with a hundred invisible cords and quietly persuades us that any means is justified.
- Verse 3.37The real enemy within is insatiable desire, which sours into anger — name it clearly, for an enemy understood can be conquered.
- Verse 17.9Constantly chasing intense stimulation — in food or in life — thrills for a moment but breeds agitation and suffering over time.
Swipe left for 18.28 · Tamas delays and distorts action.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 18.27
Who says Bhagavad Gita 18.27, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 18.27, in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga (Moksha Sannyas Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 18.27 mean?
The doer who is attached, desires the fruits of action, greedy, harmful, impure, and subject to joy and sorrow is called rajasic. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 18.27 for daily life?
Watch greed, harm, and mood swings around results. A salesperson may become manipulative when bonus obsession overtakes ethics.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 18.27 mean?
रागी — passionate / full of attachment; कर्मफलप्रेप्सुः — craving the rewards of action; लुब्धः — greedy; हिंसात्मकः — cruel / injurious by nature; अशुचिः — impure.
Where does verse 18.27 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 27 of 78 in Chapter 18, Moksha Sannyas Yoga. The next verse is 18.28.