Verse 18.38
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगाद्यत्तदग्रेऽमृतोपमम् | परिणामे विषमिव तत्सुखं राजसं स्मृतम् ||३८||
Transliteration (IAST)
viṣayendriya-saṁyogād yat tad agre 'mṛtopamam | pariṇāme viṣam iva tat sukhaṁ rājasaṁ smṛtam ||38||
Word-by-Word Meanings
Translation
That happiness which arises from the contact of the senses with their objects, which is like nectar in the beginning but like poison in the end - that is declared to be rajasic.
Commentary
Rajasic happiness is the exact inverse of sattvic: immediately pleasurable but ultimately painful. Shankaracharya explains that sensory pleasures (viṣayendriya-saṁyoga) provide instant gratification but lead to addiction, exhaustion, and suffering. Ramanuja notes this perfectly describes worldly pleasures that seem sweet initially but result in bondage, disease, and spiritual degradation.