Bhagavad Gita · Gunatraya Vibhaga YogaChapter 14, Shloka 7 (14.7)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम्
तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम्
॥ 14.7 ॥
rajo rāgātmakaṃ viddhi tṛṣṇāsaṅgasamudbhavam
tannibadhnāti kaunteya karmasaṅgena dehinam
Translation
"O Kaunteya, know rajas to be of the nature of passion (raga) — the source of craving and attachment; it binds the embodied one through attachment to action."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. rañjanāt rāgaḥ gairikādivad rāgātmakam — raga, because it colours, like ochre dye; tṛṣṇā aprāptābhilāṣaḥ, āsaṅgaḥ prāpte viṣaye manasaḥ prītilakṣaṇaḥ saṃśleṣaḥ — craving = desire for what has not been obtained; attachment = clinging to what has been obtained.
Acharya Ramanuja. rāgo yoṣitpuruṣayoḥ anyonyaspṛhā — raga = the mutual longing of woman and man; tṛṣṇā śabdādisarvaviṣayaspṛhā; saṅgaḥ putramitrādiṣu — attachment to sons, friends and the like.
Shridhara Swami. A precise distinction between two words: tṛṣṇā aprāpte 'rthe 'bhilāṣaḥ, saṅgaḥ prāpte 'rthe prītiḥ — craving = longing for what one does not have; attachment = clinging to what one has; and tṛṣṇāsaṅgābhyāṃ hi karmasv āsaktir bhavati — from these two comes attachment to action.
Madhusudana Saraswati. rajyate viṣayeṣu puruṣo 'neneti rāgaḥ — that by which a person is coloured by sense objects is raga; rajas is rāgātmaka — raga is its very nature.
Madhvacharya. tṛṣṇāsaṅgayoḥ samudbhavaṃ tayoḥ kāraṇam — rajas is the cause of craving and attachment.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.