Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 7

Chapter 14 – Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् ।
तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम् ॥

Transliteration

rajo rāgātmakaṃ viddhi tṛṣṇāsaṅgasamudbhavam .
tannibadhnāti kaunteya karmasaṅgena dehinam ॥

Meaning

Know rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of craving and attachment. O son of Kunti, it binds the embodied soul through attachment to action.

Word meanings

रजः – rajas
रागात्मकम् – of the nature of passion, that which colours the mind
विद्धि – know
तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् – the source of craving and attachment (or arising from them)
तत् – it
निबध्नाति – binds fast
कौन्तेय – O son of Kunti
कर्मसङ्गेन – by attachment to action
देहिनम् – the embodied soul

Anvaya (word order)

कौन्तेय, रजः रागात्मकं तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवं विद्धि; तत् देहिनं कर्मसङ्गेन निबध्नाति ।

Explanation

Krishna now describes the second guna, rajas, as raga-atmaka, 'of the nature of passion'. The root sense of raga is 'colour'. Just as dye soaks into cloth, rajas colours the mind with the attraction of objects. It is the force of desire, drive, ambition and restlessness.

Shankara reads trishna-sanga-samudbhavam as 'the source of craving and attachment'. Trishna is the thirst for what one does not yet have; sanga is clinging to what one already has. When rajas grows, a person is never satisfied: as soon as one desire is fulfilled another springs up. Some commentators read the compound the other way, as rajas arising from craving and attachment. Either way it is a vicious circle in which desire feeds rajas and rajas feeds desire.

How does rajas bind? Karma-sangena, 'through attachment to action'. The rajasic person always wants to be doing something: earning, building, winning, acquiring. He cannot be at peace even at rest. He acts with the feeling 'I am the doer, and the result must be mine.' This sense of doership and craving for results ties him into the web of karma, and every action becomes a seed for further birth.

The Gita does not oppose action; it teaches karma yoga. The problem is not action but karma-sanga, clinging to action and its fruits. When the energy of rajas is channelled into selfless service and duty, it is purified and moves towards sattva.

In today's competitive world the signs of rajas are easy to see: constant busyness, the race to have more, stress and discontent. This verse helps us recognise their root.

Context

Verse 6 explained the binding of sattva; this verse explains the binding of rajas. The next verse describes tamas and its instruments of bondage: heedlessness, laziness and sleep.

Life lesson

Desires have no end, and chasing them keeps the mind from ever resting. Act fully, but loosen your grip on doership and results; then the same energy becomes a means of growth instead of bondage.

Key terms

Raga: Passion, attraction that colours the mind
Trishna: Craving for what one does not have
Sanga: Clinging to what one has; attachment
Karma-sanga: Attachment to action and its fruits — the bond of rajas