Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sannyasa Yoga, Shloka 27

Moksha Sannyasa Yoga

Devanagari script

रागी कर्मफलप्रेप्सुर्लुब्धो हिंसात्मकोऽशुचिः । हर्षशोकान्वितः कर्ता राजसः परिकीर्तितः ॥ १८.२७ ॥

Transliteration

rāgī karmaphalaprepsur lubdho hiṁsātmako 'śuciḥ | harṣaśokānvitah kartā rājasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ || 18.27 ||

Translation

The doer who is passionate, who longs for the fruits of action, greedy, injurious by nature, impure, and swayed by joy and sorrow—is proclaimed to be rajasic.

Gita Press Meaning

जो कर्ता रागयुक्त है, कर्मफल की इच्छा करने वाला है, लोभी है, दूसरों को कष्ट पहुँचाने वाला, अशुद्ध (असंयमी) है तथा हर्ष-शोक से युक्त रहता है—वह राजस कहा गया है।

Critical Edition Meaning

An agent who is passionate/attached, desirous of the fruit of action, greedy, disposed to causing harm, impure, and subject to elation and sorrow—such an agent is said to be rajasic.

Comparative Note

Traditional translations often interpret ‘aśuci’ as inner impurity (lack of self-restraint) and ‘hiṁsātmaka’ as a tendency to harm (broadly construed). Academic renderings similarly avoid narrowing it to physical violence, reading it as ethically injurious disposition within social and psychological contexts.

Word by Word

• रागी: passionately attached; one who has rāga
• रागी: Karta
• Root: रागिन् (प्रातिपदिक)

• कर्मफलप्रेप्सुः: desirous of the fruit of actions
• कर्मफलप्रेप्सुः: Karta
• Root: प्रेप्सु (प्रातिपदिक)

• लुब्धः: greedy; covetous
• लुब्धः: Karta
• Root: लुब्ध (प्रातिपदिक)

• हिंसात्मकः: of violent nature; having violence as one’s disposition
• हिंसात्मकः: Karta
• Root: हिंसात्मक (प्रातिपदिक)

• अशुचिः: impure; unclean (in conduct)
• अशुचिः: Karta
• Root: अशुचि (प्रातिपदिक)

• हर्षशोकान्वितः: endowed with joy and sorrow; accompanied by elation and grief
• हर्षशोकान्वितः: Karta
• Root: अन्वित (प्रातिपदिक)

• कर्ता: the doer; agent
• कर्ता: Karta
• Root: कर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)

• राजसः: rajasic (belonging to rajas)
• Root: राजस (प्रातिपदिक)

• परिकीर्तितः: is declared; is described
• Root: √कीर्त् (कीर्तने)

Speakers

• Krishna

Primary Concepts

• Rajas
• Rāga (attachment)
• Karmaphala (fruits of action)
• Aśuci (impurity/lack of restraint)

Key Themes

• Outcome fixation
• Ethical compromise
• Emotional volatility

FAQs

Psychological significance?

The rajasic agent is portrayed as driven by desire and reward, prone to greed and reactive emotional swings (elation and disappointment), which can destabilize judgment and relationships.

Metaphysical meaning?

It exemplifies rajas as a binding force through craving and agitation, keeping agency oriented around personal gain and fluctuating affect rather than stable discernment.

Contextual relevance?

This verse continues the guṇa-based taxonomy of the doer, contrasting the sattvic agent’s steadiness with rajasic volatility and fruit-orientation.

Modern Application?

It can be used as a diagnostic for workplace or personal conduct: if decisions are consistently reward-driven and emotionally reactive, practices that cultivate restraint, reflection, and non-attachment may help rebalance behavior.