Shloka 17
Rajo-guṇa-nirdeśa — Brahmā’s Enumeration of Rajasic Dispositions
अस्मिल्लोके प्रमोदन््ते जायमाना: पुनः पुन: । प्रेत्य भाविकमीहन्ते ऐहलौकिकमेव च । ददति प्रतिगृह्नन्ति तर्पयन्त्यथ जुह्गमति
asmi loke pramodante j1yam1n1 puna puna | pretya bh1vikam 2bhante aihalaukikam eva ca | dadati pratigh nanti tarpayanty atha juhvati ||
Vāyudeva dit : «En ce monde, de tels hommes se réjouissent encore et encore, renaissant sans cesse, absorbés dans les plaisirs nés des objets des sens. Après la mort aussi, ils s’efforcent pour ce qu’ils imaginent devoir advenir, et ne poursuivent que le gain mondain. C’est pourquoi, le désir pour mobile, ils donnent des dons, reçoivent des dons, et accomplissent les rites de satisfaction (tarpana) ainsi que les offrandes sacrificielles.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Desire-driven religiosity keeps one revolving in repeated births: when charity, receiving gifts, and ritual acts are performed for personal enjoyment and worldly/otherworldly reward, they remain bound to sense-pleasure and its consequences rather than moving toward liberation-oriented dharma.
V1yudeva is describing a class of people who repeatedly take birth and pursue pleasure; even their religious actionsgiving, accepting gifts, ancestor-satiation rites, and fire-sacrificesare undertaken with a reward-seeking motive aimed at happiness in this world and the next.