Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 24
यत्तु कामेप्सुना कर्म साहङ्कारेण वा पुनः।क्रियते बहुलायासं तद्राजसमुदाहृतम्।।
yat tu kāmepsunā karma sāhankāreṇa vā punaḥ
kriyate bahulāyāsaṁ tad rājasam udāhṛtam
also searched as "yat tu kamepsuna karma sahankarena va punah"
Translation
But that act is said to be Rajasic, which is performed with great effort by one who seeks to gratify their desires and under the prompting of egoism.
Vāṇi's rendering
Work driven by craving or by the pride of 'I,' done with strain and heaving effort — that work is restless.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यत्yat | which, that (work) |
| तुtu | but, whereas |
| कामेप्सुनाkāma-īpsunā | by one hungry to get what he craves (kāma + īpsu joined in sandhi as kāmepsunā) |
| कर्मkarma | work, action |
| साहङ्कारेणsa-ahaṅkāreṇa | with the sense of 'I did it', with self-importance (sa + ahaṅkāreṇa joined in sandhi) |
| वाvā | or |
| पुनःpunaḥ | again, moreover |
| क्रियतेkriyate | is performed |
| बहुलायासम्bahula-āyāsam | involving much strain, heavy labour, exhausting effort |
| तत्tat | that |
| राजसम्rājasam | of rajas — restless, driven, agitated |
| उदाहृतम्udāhṛtam | is declared to be, is called |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 24 mean?
It names the middle kind of work. Not lazy, not steady — driven. Krishna says that action pushed by craving, or by the pride of being its doer, and carried out with heaving effort, is rājasic. The mark of it is not failure but strain. The doing is dragging something extra behind it.
What does 'yat tu kamepsuna karma sahankarena va punah' teach?
That two things make work heavy: wanting the fruit, and wanting to be seen holding it. Kāma is the appetite, ahaṅkāra the ownership. Krishna joins them with vā — or — because either alone is enough. Add bahulāyāsa, much strain, and you have the whole restless signature of rājasic action.
Is effort itself wrong according to Krishna?
No. Krishna never asks Arjuna to stop acting; he asks him to stop hauling. Bahulāyāsa is not honest work but the excess friction of craving and self-regard. Sāttvika action can be strenuous and still feel light. What Krishna calls restless is labour that exhausts you before the labour has even begun.
How do I know if my work has become rajasic?
Ask what happens when the credit goes elsewhere. If the same task done anonymously feels pointless, ahaṅkāra was the fuel. If you cannot stop rehearsing the outcome while your hands are still busy, kāma was. The strain will tell you before your reasoning does.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Notice the effort, not the outcome. Krishna is not weighing what the work achieved; he is weighing what it cost you to do it. Two engines drive restless work — the craving for a result, and the louder one, the need for the result to be yours. Both make the same sound: strain. The task that should take an hour takes three, because you are carrying the wanting alongside the doing. Arjuna's whole despair is this heaviness. Watch yourself tomorrow at some ordinary task and see where the extra weight comes from. It is rarely the work.