विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगाद्यत्तदग्रेऽमृतोपमम् ।परिणामे विषमिव तत्सुखं राजसं स्मृतम् ॥
viṣayendriyasaṃyogād yat tad agre 'mṛtopamam |pariṇāme viṣam iva tat sukhaṃ rājasaṃ smṛtam ||
- विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगात् · viṣayendriyasaṃyogāt
- from contact of senses with objects
- यत् · yat
- which
- तत् · tat
- that
- अग्रे · agre
- at first
- अमृतोपमम् · amṛtopamam
- like nectar
- परिणामे · pariṇāme
- in the end
- विषम् · viṣam
- poison
- इव · iva
- like
- तत् · tat
- that
- सुखम् · sukham
- happiness
- राजसम् · rājasam
- rajasic
- स्मृतम् · smṛtam
- held, remembered
“That which comes from contact of the senses with their objects — like nectar at first, like poison in the end — that happiness is held to be rajasic.”
— Original plain-language translation
Rajasic joy is sattvic joy reversed: nectar first, poison after. Sense-pleasure delights on contact and sours in satiety, craving, and loss. Krishna's symmetry between 18.37 and 18.38 makes the choice stark — pay now or pay later.
— Reader's notes (original)