Chapter XIV · Śloka 7
रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् ।
तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम् ॥
तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम् ॥
rajo rāgātmakaṃ viddhi tṛṣṇā-saṅga-samudbhavam |
tan nibadhnāti kaunteya karma-saṅgena dehinam ||
tan nibadhnāti kaunteya karma-saṅgena dehinam ||
Know rajas to be of the nature of passion, arising from craving and attachment; it binds the embodied one, O son of Kuntī, by attachment to action.
Rajas is the guṇa of desire and restless striving; it chains the soul through the compulsive need to act, acquire, and possess. Its root is thirst for experience.