Bg. 18.31

BG 18.31

Devanagari

यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च । अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धि: सा पार्थ राजसी ॥ ३१ ॥

Verse text

yayā dharmam adharmaṁ ca kāryaṁ cākāryam eva ca ayathāvat prajānāti buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī

Synonyms

yayā by which ; dharmam the principles of religion ; adharmam irreligion ; ca and ; kāryam what ought to be done ; ca also ; akāryam what ought not to be done ; eva certainly ; ca also ; ayathā-vat imperfectly ; prajānāti knows ; buddhiḥ intelligence ; that ; pārtha O son of Pṛthā ; rājasī in the mode of passion.

Translation

O son of Pṛthā, that understanding which cannot distinguish between religion and irreligion, between action that should be done and action that should not be done, is in the mode of passion.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

31. That intelligence is of rajo-guṇa, which does not understand correctly what is dharma and adharma, and what is to be done as duty and what is not to be done as duty.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

31. That intelligence is of raja guṇa, which does not understand completely what is dharma and adharma, and what is to be done as duty and what is not to be done as duty.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The person of rajasic intelligence does not correctly understand (ayathāvat) the distinctions.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

This verse explains intelligence in the mode of passion. Ayathāvat means “not completely.”