Bhagavad-gītā 18.31
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च।अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ राजसी।।18.31।।
yayā dharmam adharmaṁ cha kāryaṁ chākāryam eva cha ayathāvat prajānāti buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī
The intellect that does not understand what is right and wrong, and what should be done and not done, is under the sway of Passion.
English rendering by Shri Purohit Swami. Each source voice remains named.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| yayā | by which |
| dharmam | righteousness |
| adharmam | unrighteousness |
| cha | and |
| kāryam | right conduct |
| cha | and |
| akāryam | wrong conduct |
| eva | certainly |
| cha | and |
| ayathā-vat | confused |
| prajānāti | distinguish |
| buddhiḥ | intellect |
| sā | that |
| pārtha | Arjun, the son of Pritha |
| rājasī | in the mode of passion |
There is no proper eivalent in the English language for the word Dharma. Duty, righteousness, virtue, law are very poor translations of the word.
Attributed explanatory witness: Swami Sivananda. Chapter lens: Follow the great recapitulation through renunciation, action, knowledge, duty, devotion, refuge and Sañjaya’s conclusion.
Three named reading witnesses
Śaṅkara edition witness
Swami GambiranandaO Partha, that intellect is born of rajas with which one wrongly understands virtue and vice, as well as what ought to be done and ought not to be done.
Rāmānuja edition witness
Swami AdidevanandaThe Buddhi that gives an erroneous knowledge of Dharma and Adharma (its opposite) and also of what should be done and what should not be done, O Arjuna, is Rajasic.
Sivananda commentary witness
Swami SivanandaThere is no proper eivalent in the English language for the word Dharma. Duty, righteousness, virtue, law are very poor translations of the word.
These are concise, attributed reading witnesses from identified editions. They are presented for comparison and are not merged into one anonymous interpretation.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
The intellect that does not understand what is right and wrong
- 2
what should be done and not done, is under the sway of Passion
- 3
yayā: by which
Look, link, cover, teach
Look
Picture freedom through surrender.
Link
Use the line starts: yayā dharmam / ayathāvat prajānāti.
Cover
Hide the verse and rebuild one line at a time.
Teach
Explain the flow to another person without looking.
Turn this reading into a study record
Save it, return from memory, and write one idea in your own words. Your record stays in this browser unless you export it.