A core teaching · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“Craving turns action into a chain.”
Know rajas as passion-born, born of craving and attachment. It binds the embodied being through attachment to action, O son of Kunti.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyrajas · of the nature of passion · know · craving · attachment · born from · that · binds · O son of Kunti · through attachment to action · the embodied being
Restless desire and attachment create rajas. That force traps a person by making them cling to action and its rewards.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga" (The Three Modes of Material Nature).
Verse 7 sits in Chapter 14 of the Bhagavad Gita — Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga, "The Three Modes of Material Nature". The chapter has 27 verses in total.
A shopkeeper who keeps rearranging stock and chasing one more sale, even after closing, may call it drive. Krishna would call it rajas, craving that binds a person through attachment to action.
Did you like this verse?
Rajas is born of craving, and it ties a person to the restless need to keep doing.
What this verse means
Restless desire and attachment create rajas. That force traps a person by making them cling to action and its rewards.
Context & commentary
Arjuna still stands frozen while Krishna explains the three forces that shape human conduct. After describing sattva, Krishna now names rajas: the force of craving and attachment that ties the embodied person to restless doing.
What it looks like today
A shopkeeper who keeps rearranging stock and chasing one more sale, even after closing, may call it drive. Krishna would call it rajas, craving that binds a person through attachment to action.
“You can see how craving quietly turns action into bondage.”
Explore related themes: gunas (47 verses), rajas (21 verses)