Bhagavad Gita BG 18.31
Chapter 18, Verse 31 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च । अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ राजसी ॥
yaya dharmam adharmam ca karyam cakaryam eva ca ayathavat prajanati buddhih sa partha rajasi
Meaning
O Partha, the buddhi by which one incorrectly (ayathavat) understands dharma and adharma, and what should (karya) and should not (akarya) be done — that buddhi is rajasic.
Understanding
Rajasic buddhi fails at the ethical discriminative level. Ayathavat (not as it truly is — incorrectly, not in accordance with reality). Prajanati (understands, knows): the rajasic buddhi does know dharma and adharma, karya and akarya — it has the categories — but it applies them wrongly. This is the crucial distinction from tamasic: rajasic buddhi can reason and deliberate, but its reasoning is distorted by raga (passion) and desire. It convinces itself that what serves its desires is dharma; that what inconveniently opposes those desires is adharma. The classic pattern: the rajasic person does not abandon dharmic categories but redefines them to serve their self-interest. They say 'this is right' and they have reasons — but the reasons are distorted by passion, making them ultimately wrong.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| यया | yaya | by which (instrumental relative pronoun — referring to buddhi) |
| धर्मम् | dharmam | dharma — right conduct, cosmic order, righteousness |
| अधर्मम् | adharmam | adharma — what is contrary to dharma, unrighteousness |
| अयथावत् | ayathavat | incorrectly, not as things truly are (a = not, yathavat = as it actually is) |
| प्रजानाति | prajanati | understands, knows, comprehends (pra = thoroughly, jna = to know) |
| यया | yayā | by which |
| अधर्मम् | adharmam ca | and irreligion |
| कार्यम् | kāryam | what should be done |
| च | ca akāryam eva ca | and also what should not be done |
| अयथावत् | ayathāvat | improperly, incorrectly |
| प्रजानाति | prajānāti | knows |
| बुद्धिः | buddhiḥ | intelligence |
| सा | sā | that |
| पार्थ | pārtha | O Arjuna |
| राजसी | rājasī | in passion |