Verse 18.27
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
रागी कर्मफलप्रेप्सुर्लुब्धो हिंसात्मकोऽशुचिः | हर्षशोकान्वितः कर्ता राजसः परिकीर्तितः ||२७||
Transliteration (IAST)
rāgī karma-phala-prepsur lubdho hiṁsātmako 'śuciḥ | harṣa-śokānvitaḥ kartā rājasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ ||27||
Word-by-Word Meanings
Translation
The doer who is passionate, who desires the fruits of action, who is greedy, violent in nature, impure, and subject to joy and sorrow - is declared to be rajasic.
Commentary
The rajasic doer is driven by desire and emotional volatility. Shankaracharya lists six defects: attachment (rāga), desire for results, greed (lobha), tendency toward harm, impurity of conduct, and emotional instability. Madhva notes that 'harṣa-śokānvitaḥ' (subject to elation and grief) reveals the fundamental instability of the rajasic personality, constantly oscillating between extremes.