BG 18.31 (1972)
TEXT 31
- यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च ।
- अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ राजसी ॥३१॥
- yayā dharmam adharmaṁ ca
- kāryaṁ cākāryam eva ca
- ayathāvat prajānāti
- buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī
SYNONYMS
yayā—by which; dharmam—principles of religion; adharmam ca—and irreligion; kāryam—work; ca—also; akāryam—what ought not to be done; eva—certainly; ca—also; ayathāvat—not perfectly; prajānati—knows; buddhiḥ—intelligence; sā—that; pārtha—O son of Pṛthā; rājasī—in the mode of passion.
TRANSLATION
And that understanding which cannot distinguish between the religious way of life and the irreligious, between action that should be done and action that should not be done, that imperfect understanding, O son of Pṛthā, is in the mode of passion.
PURPORT
Intelligence in the mode of passion is always working perversely. It accepts religions which are not actually religions and rejects actual religion. All views and activities are misguided. Men of passionate intelligence understand a great soul to be a common man and accept a common man as a great soul. They think truth to be untruth and accept untruth as truth. In all activities they simply take the wrong path; therefore their intelligence is in the mode of passion.