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Bhagavad-gītā 18.27

रागी कर्मफलप्रेप्सुर्लुब्धो हिंसात्मकोऽश‍ुचि: । हर्षशोकान्वित: कर्ता राजस: परिकीर्तित: ॥ २७ ॥
rāgī karma-phala-prepsur
[raagee karma-phala-prepsur]
lubdho hiṁsātmako ’śuciḥ
[lubdho himsaatmako ’shuchih]
harṣa-śokānvitaḥ kartā
[harsha-shokaanvitah kartaa]
rājasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ
[raajasah parikeertitah]
Word-for-word
rāgī — very much attached karma - phala — the fruit of the work prepsuḥ — desiring lubdhaḥ — greedy hiṁsā - ātmakaḥ — always envious aśuciḥ — unclean harṣa - śoka - anvitaḥ — subject to joy and sorrow kartā — such a worker rājasaḥ — in the mode of passion parikīrtitaḥ — is declared .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
rāgī karma-phala-prepsur
rāgī
very much attached
karma - phala
the fruit of the work
prepsuḥ
desiring
lubdho hiṁsātmako ’śuciḥ
lubdhaḥ
greedy
hiṁsā - ātmakaḥ
always envious
harṣa-śokānvitaḥ kartā
aśuciḥ
unclean
harṣa - śoka - anvitaḥ
subject to joy and sorrow
kartā
such a worker
rājasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ
rājasaḥ
in the mode of passion
parikīrtitaḥ
is declared .
Important Words
  • rāgī — deeply attached
    From rāga, color. The worker is *colored* by his work — stained by it, identified with it. His self-image rides his project.
  • prepsuḥ — desiring
    Compound element — with karma-phala, the fruit-craver. Exactly the opposite of aphala-prepsu from verse 23. This worker's whole motive is the fruit — the act is merely the cost of admission to the result.
  • lubdhaḥ — greedy
    From lubh — to crave. Not merely desirous but unable to be satisfied. Each gain produces only the appetite for the next.
  • hiṁsā-ātmakaḥ — essentially envious / harmful
    Compound — his very nature (ātmaka) is hiṁsā. He is willing to harm rivals or subordinates to secure his fruit. Envy is built into the operating system.
  • harṣa-śoka-anvitaḥ — accompanied by joy and sorrow
    Anvita — yoked together with. The worker is *yoked* to the seesaw of outcome-emotion. He cannot step off it because his identity is the seesaw.
The worker who is attached to work and the fruits of work, desiring to enjoy those fruits, and who is greedy, always envious, impure, and moved by joy and sorrow, is said to be in the mode of passion.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
The rājasa worker: passionate, fruit-hungry, greedy, prone to violence, ritually/morally impure, swung between elation and lament. He gets things done but at moral and emotional cost — and at the cost of others around him.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
Six features. The pair harṣa-śoka is diagnostic: the rājasa agent's mood tracks results, oscillating violently — exactly what the sāttvika agent transcends (18.26 'siddhy-asiddhyoḥ nirvikāraḥ'). Hiṁsātmaka places ordinary competitive worldly drive on the spectrum of injury.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
रागी कर्म-फल-प्रेप्सुः लुब्धः हिंसा-आत्मकः अशुचिः हर्ष-शोक-अन्वितः कर्ता राजसः परिकीर्तितः ।
rāgī karma-phala-prepsuḥ lubdhaḥ hiṃsā-ātmakaḥ aśuciḥ harṣa-śoka-anvitaḥ kartā rājasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ |
Passionate, hungering for the fruit of action, greedy, violent by nature, impure, swept by elation and grief — such a doer is declared rājasa.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
रागी कर्म-फल-प्रेप्सुः लुब्धः हिंसा-आत्मकः अशुचिः । हर्ष-शोक-अन्वितः कर्ता राजसः परिकीर्तितः ॥
rāgī karma-phala-prepsuḥ lubdhaḥ hiṃsā-ātmakaḥ aśuciḥ | harṣa-śoka-anvitaḥ kartā rājasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
रागी rāgī रागिन् (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. passionate
कर्म-फल-प्रेप्सुः karma-phala-prepsuḥ bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. fruit-craving
लुब्धः lubdhaḥ √लुभ् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. greedy
हिंसा-आत्मकः hiṃsā-ātmakaḥ bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. of violent nature
अशुचिः aśuciḥ अ + शुचि (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. impure
हर्ष-शोक-अन्वितः harṣa-śoka-anvitaḥ tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. attended by joy and grief
कर्ता kartā कर्तृ (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) doer
राजसः rājasaḥ राजस (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. rājasa
परिकीर्तितः parikīrtitaḥ परि + √कीर्त् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. is declared
Purport

A person is too much attached to a certain kind of work or to the result because he has too much attachment for materialism or hearth and home, wife and children. Such a person has no desire for higher elevation in life. He is simply concerned with making this world as materially comfortable as possible. He is generally very greedy, and he thinks that anything attained by him is permanent and never to be lost. Such a person is envious of others and prepared to do anything wrong for sense gratification. Therefore such a person is unclean, and he does not care whether his earning is pure or impure. He is very happy if his work is successful and very much distressed when his work is not successful. Such is the worker in the mode of passion.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
27. The agent who is attached to his work, who desires the results of his actions, who is attached to the enjoyment of the sense objects, who gives pain to others, who is unclean and subject to joy and sorrow, is known to be in the mode of rajas.
Commentary

Rāgī means one who is attached to his work. Lubdha means one who is attached to enjoyment of sense objects.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
27. The agent who is attached to his work, who desires the results of his actions, who is attached to the enjoyment of the sense objects, who gives pain to others, who is unclean and subject to joy and sorrow, is known to be in the mode of rajas.
Commentary

The person attached to wife and children (ragī); who has extreme desires for the results of his actions in the form of animals, sons, food or svarga; who is reluctant to spend money on the ingredients necessary for the ritual (lubdhaḥ); and who causes pain to others in doing his action (hiṁsātmakaḥ); who is devoid of the cleanliness necessary for the particular rite (aśuciḥ); who feels joy on receiving the results of his action and lamentation on not receiving results—such an agent is in the mode of passion.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
18.27 Karta, the agent; ragi, who has attachment; karma-phala-prepsuh, who is desirous of the results of actions; lubdhah, covetous, greedy for other's property, and does not part with his own (when) at holy places; himsatmakah, cruel by nature, having a nature that cuases pain to others; asucih, unclean, devoid of internal and external cleanliness; and harsa-soka-anvitah, subject to joy and sorrow, affected by these two, joy and sorrow-joy at the acisition of desired objects, sorrow at getting undesired objects and losing coverted objects; and elation and dejection may occur to that very person from his actions being aided or hindered; one who is subject to those-; parikirtitah, is declared to be; rajasah, possessed of rajas.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
18.27 The 'passionate' doer is one who aspires for fame; 'who seeks the fruits of his acts' is one who longs for the fruits of his acts; the 'greedy' is he who does not spend the wealth reired for the act; the 'harmful' is one, who while acting, hurts others; the 'impure', is one who lacks the purity reired for the act; who is moved by 'delight and grief' in war etc., is one who is elated or depressed by success or failure in victory (or the opposite) - a doer who fulfils these conditions is declared to be Rajasika.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
18.27 See Comment under 18.28
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
18.27 Passionate, desiring to obtain the reward of actions, greedy, cruel, impure, moved by joy and sorrow, such an agent is said to be Rajasic (passionate).
Commentary

18.27 रागी passionate? कर्मफलप्रेप्सुः desirous of the fruit of action? लुब्धः greedy? हिंसात्मकः cruel? अशुचिः impure? हर्षशोकान्वितः moved by joy and sorrow? कर्ता agent? राजसः Rajasic (passionate)? परिकीर्तितः is called.Commentary A passionate agent is the abode of sins and of greed of the whole world. Wherever he imagines that he may gain worldly fruit he will strive wholeheartedly to obtain it. Whatsoever he gains he keeps strictly to himself and his family. If he attains the fruits of his actions he rejoices. If he fails in his attempt he is overcome by grief.Lubdhah Greedy Thirsting for others property not sharing ones own wealth with deserving persons.Himsatmakah Doing injury to others.Asuchih Impure Having no external and internal purity. (Internal purity is freedom from lust?,anger? greed and pride the heart is filled with compassion? complacency? forgiveness? dispassion? love? etc.)Harshasokanvitah Joy on the attainment of what is desirable? pleasant or agreeable sorrow on the attainment of what is not desirable? pleasant or agreeable? and on having to part with what is desirable. He will be elated with joy when he attains success he will be overcoming by grief when he fails in his undertaking.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
18.27 The agent who has attachment, who is desirous of the results of actions, covetous, cruel by nature, unclean and subject to joy and sorrow is declared to be possessed of rajas.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
18.27 In him who is impulsive, greedy, looking for reward, violent, impure, torn between joy and sorrow,it may be assumed that in him Passion is predominant.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Prema (Divine Love)
Related verses
BG 3.21 BG 16.13 BG 2.62 SB 11.25.21 SB 5.5.4 SB 6.1.9 CC Madhya 22.88 CC Madhya 24.86 CC Antya 5.51 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.6Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.10
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Doer attached to the work and fruit, greedy, envious, impure, moved by joy and grief — rajasic.
Practical Applications
  • Recognize this rajasic doer in yourself when active.
  • Don't act in this mode without explicit transformation.
  • Pause when these signs are present.
Reflection Questions
  • When recently was I this rajasic doer?
  • What would have helped me pause?
Analogy

A merchant who hangs on every gain and curses every loss, eyes always darting to a rival's stall. Joy and sorrow ride his pulse minute by minute. Rājasa karta is precisely this: a person whose inner weather changes with every reading of the market.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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