偈颂 14.714.114.214.314.414.514.614.714.814.914.1014.1114.1214.1314.1414.1514.1614.1714.1814.1914.2014.2114.2214.2314.2414.2514.2614.27

Know thou Rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of thirst (for sensual enjoyment) and attachment; it binds fast, O Arjuna, the embodied one by attachment to action.

Know that passion has the nature of craving and springs from thirst and attachment. It binds the embodied one, son of Kunti, through attachment to action.

Next comes passion (rajas). Its nature is rāga, passionate desire, and it arises from tṛṣṇā, thirst or craving, and from attachment. It binds the embodied self through attachment to action: the restless urge to do, achieve and acquire. Rajas is not evil in itself; it is the energy behind effort and enterprise. But when it drives a person, action becomes compulsive and is bound to its results. Arjuna, a warrior and prince, lives in a world shaped by rajas, and the Gita's teaching on action without attachment can be read partly as a way of freeing that energy from its bonds.