यत्तु कामेप्सुना कर्म साहङ्कारेण वा पुनः ।क्रियते बहुलायासं तद्राजसमुदाहृतम् ॥
yat tu kāmepsunā karma sāhaṅkāreṇa vā punaḥ |kriyate bahulāyāsaṃ tad rājasam udāhṛtam ||
- यत् · yat
- which
- तु · tu
- but
- कामेप्सुना · kāmepsunā
- by one craving gratification
- कर्म · karma
- action
- साहङ्कारेण · sāhaṅkāreṇa
- with ego, boastfully
- क्रियते · kriyate
- is performed
- बहुलायासम् · bahulāyāsam
- with great strain
- तत् · tat
- that
- राजसम् · rājasam
- rajasic
- उदाहृतम् · udāhṛtam
- declared
“But action performed with craving for gratification, or with ego, and with great strain — that is declared rajasic.”
— Original plain-language translation
Rajasic action exhausts: desire sets the goal, ego claims the doing, and strain pays the price. Much modern overwork fits this portrait exactly. The Gita does not call it evil — only costly, binding the doer to the fruits craved.
— Reader's notes (original)