Shloka
यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च |
अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ राजसी ||१८-३१||
Transliteration
yayā dharmamadharmaṃ ca kāryaṃ cākāryameva ca .
ayathāvatprajānāti buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī ||18-31||
Translations
Dr.S.Sankaranarayan
18.31. The intellect, by means of which one decides incorrectly the righteous and the unrighteous ones and what is a proper action and also an improper onethat intellect is of the Rajas (Strand), O son of Prtha !
Shri Purohit Swami
18.31 The intellect which does not understand what is right and what is wrong, and what should be done and what not, is under the sway of Passion.
Sri Abhinav Gupta
18.31 See Comment under 18.32
Sri Ramanuja
18.31 That Buddhi by which one does not know exactly the twofold Dharma previously mentioned and its opposite, and what ought to be done and what ought not to be done by those intent on them in accordance with place, time and conditions - that Buddhi is Rajasika.
Sri Shankaracharya
18.31 O Partha, sa, that; buddhih, intellect; is rajasi, born of rajas; yaya, with which; prajanati, one understands; ayathavat, wrongly, not truly, not by discerning it from all points of view; dharmam, virtue, as prescribed by the scritpures; and adharmam, vice, what is prohibited by them; [By dharma and adharma are implied the seen and the unseen results of actions as revealed by the scriptures; karya and akarya respectively refer to the actual doing of what ought to be done and the not doing of what ought not to be done.] ca eva, as also; karyam, what ought to be done; and akaryam, what ought not to be done-those very ‘duty’ and ‘what is not duty’ as stated earlier.
Swami Adidevananda
18.31 The Buddhi which gives an erroneous knowledge of Dharma and Adharma (its opposite) and also of what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, O Arjuna, is Rajasika.
Swami Gambirananda
18.31 O Partha, that intellect is born of rajas with which one wrongly understands virtue and vice as also what ought to be done and ought not to be done.
Swami Sivananda
18.31 That, by which one wrongly understands Dharma and Adharma and also what ought to be done and what ought not to be done that intellect, O Arjuna, is Rajasic (passionate).
Commentaries
Swami Sivananda
18.31 यया by which? धर्मम् Dharma? अधर्मम् Adharma? च and? कार्यम् what ought to be done? च and? अकार्यम् what ought not to be done? एव even? च and? अयथावत् wrongly? प्रजानाति understands? बुद्धिः intellect? सा that? पार्थ O Partha? राजसी Rajasic (passionate).Commentary There is no proper eivalent in the English language for the word Dharma. Duty? righteousness? virtue? law are very poor translations of the word. That which elevates you and takes you to the goal? i.e.? Brahman or the Self? is Dharma. That which hurls you down into the dark abyss of ignorance is Adharma. What is ordained in the scriptures is Dharma what is prohibited by them is Adharma. A Rajasic intellect is not able to distinguish between right and wrong or to understand the difference between righteous and unrighteous actions.Ayathavat Wrongly Contrary to what is determined by all authorities or men of wisdom or to the highest knowledge.