Bhagavad Gita 18.31: meaning and translation
Chapter 18: Moksha Sannyasa Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna says that the understanding by which one knows wrongly what is dharma and what is not, and what should and should not be done, is understanding of the nature of rajas.
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Bhagavad Gita 18.31
यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च ।अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ राजसी ॥
Yaya dharmamadharmam cha karyam chakaryameva chaAyathavatprajanati buddhih sa partha rajasi
yayā dharmamadharmaṃ ca kāryaṃ cākāryameva ca |ayathāvatprajānāti buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī ||
Our explanation Krishna says that the understanding by which one knows wrongly what is dharma and what is not, and what should and should not be done, is understanding of the nature of rajas.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि जिस बुद्धि से व्यक्ति धर्म और अधर्म को, और कर्तव्य और अकर्तव्य को, ठीक-ठीक नहीं जानता, वह राजस है।
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Word by word
- यया yayā · by which (pronoun (feminine), instrumental singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
- धर्मम् dharmam · dharma, right (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. dharma, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 510, col. 3 “usage, practice, customary observance or prescribed conduct, duty”
- अधर्मम् adharmam · adharma, wrong (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: a-dharma, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 20, col. 1 “unrighteousness, injustice, irreligion, wickedness”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- कार्यम् kāryam · what should be done (gerundive (to be done) (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: kārya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 276, col. 1 “to be made or done or practised or performed”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- अकार्यम् akāryam · what should not be done (gerundive (to be done) (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: a-kārya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 2, col. 1 “not to be done, improper”
- एव eva · also (indeclinable) Dictionary: 1. eva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone, merely”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- अयथावत् ayathāvat · wrongly, not as it is (indeclinable) Dictionary: a-yathā-vat, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 84, col. 3 “incorrectly”
- प्रजानाति prajānāti · one knows (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: pra-jñā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 659, col. 1 “to know, understand (esp. a way or mode of action), discern, distinguish”
- बुद्धिः buddhiḥ · understanding (noun (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: buddhi, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 733, col. 3 “intelligence, reason, intellect, mind, discernment, judgment”
- सा sā · that (pronoun (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
- पार्थ pārtha · O son of Pritha (noun (masculine), vocative singular) Dictionary: 2. pārtha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 621, col. 3 “metron. of Yudhi-shṭhira or Bhīma-sena or Arjuna”
- राजसी rājasī · of rajas (adjective (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: rājasa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 875, col. 2 “belonging or relating to the quality rajas”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 125.
That intelligence, O son of Prithâ! is passionate, by which one imperfectly understands piety and impiety, what ought to be done and also what ought not to be done.
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 125.
That intelligence, O son of Prithâ! is passionate, by which one imperfectly understands piety and impiety, what ought to be done and also what ought not to be done.
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Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 158.
That by which one understandeth awry Dharma and Adharma1, and also what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, that Buddhi, O Pârtha, is râjasic.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Right and Wrong in the widest sense. ↩
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 332.
That which has a distorted apprehension of Dharma and its opposite, and also of right action and its opposite, that intellect, O Pártha, is Rájasic.
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Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 125. Bhagavad Gita 18.31.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 158. Bhagavad Gita 18.31.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 332. Bhagavad Gita 18.31.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 18.31: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/18/31/
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Bhagavad Gita 18.31
यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च ।
अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ राजसी ॥
“That intelligence, O son of Prithâ! is passionate, by which one imperfectly understands piety and impiety, what ought to be done and also what ought not to be done.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 125, public domain)
“That by which one understandeth awry Dharma and Adharma, and also what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, that Buddhi, O Pârtha, is râjasic.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 158, public domain)
“That which has a distorted apprehension of Dharma and its opposite, and also of right action and its opposite, that intellect, O Pártha, is Rájasic.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 332, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/18/31/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 18.31?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 18 (Moksha Sannyasa Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026