14.7 rajO rAgAthmakam vidhdhi

SrI:  SrImathE SatakOpAya nama:  SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:  SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

Chapter 14

<< Chapter 14 verse 6

SlOkam – Original

rajO rAgAthmakam vidhdhi thrushNAsangasamudhbhavam |
than nibadhnAthi kaunthEya karmasangEna dhEhinam ||

word-by-word meaning

kaunthEya – Oh son of kunthI!
raja: – rajO guNam
rAgAthmakam – cause of desire (between male and female)
thrushNA sanga samudhbhavam – cause of desire towards worldly pleasures based on Sabdha (sound) etc and attachment towards children/friends
vidhdhi – know;
thath – that rajO guNam
dhEhinam – the AthmA who is in the body
karma sangEna – causing desire in worldly activities
badhnAthi – binds

Simple Translation

Oh son of kunthI! Know that rajO guNam is the cause of desire (between male and female) and the cause of desire towards worldly pleasures based on Sabdha (sound) etc and attachment towards children/friends; that rajO guNam binds the AthmA who is in the body causing desire in worldly activities.

Rendering based on ALkoNdavilli gOvindhAchArya swAmy’s English translation of gIthA bhAshyam

‘Rajas, know, Kaunteya! is lustful; it engenders
desire and attachment; it ties the embodied to work,’

Rajas is lustful or the cause of lust. Rāga = Lust, concupiscence or carnal desire between males and females.

Rajas is the birth-place of tṛishnā and saṇga.

Tṛishṇa is desire or thirst for all sensual enjoyments, such as sound (=music) etc.

Saṇga is attachment or desire to be united to, or to be in the company of, sons, friends etc.

Thus Rajas, by engendering desires, ties one (or prompts one) to activity or active works. A pruriency for active engagements or undertakings; then performance of works of the kinds of merits and demerits —thus does Rajas become the reason for one being born in such places and such bodies as are peculiarly suited to enjoy the fruits of such (Rājasa-) labours.

Hence by provoking an itching for works, Rajas confines a man. Hence Rajas is said to be the cause of lust, sensual desires and attachment.

>> Chapter 14 verse 8

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