Bhagavad Gita BG 18.34
Chapter 18, Verse 34 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
यया तु धर्मकामार्थान् धृत्या धारयते ऽर्जुन । प्रसङ्गेन फलाकाङ्क्षी धृतिः सा पार्थ राजसी ॥
yaya tu dharma-kamarthan dhrTya dharayate 'rjuna prasangena phala-kankshi dhrTih sa partha rajasi
Meaning
But that by which one holds dharma, pleasure, and wealth with attachment, desiring fruits — that firmness is rajasic, O Partha.
Understanding
Rajasic dhriti (firmness): holds onto dharma, kama, and artha — the three of the classical purusharthas — but with prasangena (with attachment) and phala-kankshi (desiring the fruits). The rajasic person is firm but only in the direction of the three material pursuits: righteous conduct for social benefit, pleasure for enjoyment, and wealth for security. This firmness is real but it binds — because it is always oriented toward outcome and attachment. The problem is not dharma, kama, or artha themselves, but the attached, fruit-seeking orientation that makes them rajasic.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| धर्मकामार्थान् | dharma-kamarthan | dharma, desire (kama), and wealth (artha) — three purusharthas |
| धृत्या | dhrTya | by firmness, by dhriti |
| धारयते | dharayate | holds, maintains, sustains |
| प्रसङ्गेन | prasangena | with attachment, due to clinging |
| फलाकाङ्क्षी | phala-kankshi | desiring fruit, fruit-seeking |
| यया | yayā tu | but by which |
| धर्म | dharma | religion, duty |
| काम | kāma | desire |
| अर्थान् | arthān | wealth |
| धृत्या | dhṛtyā | by steadiness |
| धारयते | dhārayate | one holds |
| अर्जुन | arjuna | O Arjuna |
| प्रसङ्गेन | prasaṅgena | with attachment |
| फल-काङ्क्षी | phala-kāṅkṣī | desiring results |
| धृतिः | dhṛtiḥ | steadiness |
| सा | sā | that |
| पार्थ | pārtha | O Arjuna |
| राजसी | rājasī | in passion |