Shloka 27
भीष्मविक्रमदर्शनं तथा क्रौञ्चारुणव्यूहविधानम् | Bhīṣma’s Ascendancy and the Organization of the Krauñcāruṇa Formation
रागीः कर्मफलप्रेप्सुर्लुब्धोः 3 हिंसात्मको5शुचि:* ५ | हर्षशोकान्वित: कर्ता राजस: परिकीर्तित:,जो कर्ता आसक्तिसे युक्त, कर्मोके फलको चाहनेवाला और लोभी है तथा दूसरोंको कष्ट देनेके स्वभाववाला, अशुद्धाचारी और हर्ष-शोकसे लिप्त है, वह राजस कहा गया है
rāgī karmaphalaprepsur lubdho hiṁsātmako 'śuciḥ | harṣaśokānvitaḥ kartā rājasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ ||
Arjuna said: The doer who is driven by attachment, who craves the fruits of action, who is greedy, whose nature is to harm, who is impure in conduct, and who is entangled in elation and grief—such an agent is declared to be of the rājasa type. Ethically, this describes action propelled by desire and agitation rather than clarity or self-restraint, and it warns that such motivation distorts judgment and leads to suffering for oneself and others.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A rājasa doer is defined by attachment and craving for results, greed, harmfulness, impurity of conduct, and emotional volatility (elation and grief). The teaching evaluates action by inner motive: when desire and agitation dominate, conduct becomes ethically compromised and unstable.
Within Bhīṣma Parva’s instruction on conduct and qualities, Arjuna voices (or frames) a definition of the rājasa type of agent. The verse functions as a moral-psychological classification, contrasting rājasa motivation with more disciplined or clearer modes of action.