📿 Shloka Collection

Vishayendriya-Samyogat

Gita 18.38 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18 — Moksha Sannyasa Yoga
विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगाद्यत्तदग्रेऽमृतोपमम् ।
परिणामे विषमिव तत्सुखं राजसं स्मृतम् ॥
Vishayendriyasamyogad yat tad agre'mritopamam
Pariname visham iva tat sukham rajasam smritam
विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगात्
from the contact of senses with their objects
अग्रे अमृतोपमम्
like nectar at first
परिणामे विषम् इव
like poison in the end
राजसम्
rajasic, born of rajas
स्मृतम्
is considered, is declared

Rajasic happiness is the exact mirror image of sattvic. When the senses meet their favorite objects — a delicious meal, a new purchase, a flattering compliment — the first taste is sweet as nectar. But in the end, that same sweetness turns bitter.

Everyone has tasted this. The first bite of an indulgent dessert is heavenly. The tenth bite brings heaviness. The aftermath brings regret. The pleasure was real — but it carried a hidden cost that only shows up later. That is the nature of rajasic happiness: front-loaded sweetness, back-loaded discomfort.

Krishna is not saying the senses are enemies or that enjoyment is sinful. He is saying: know what kind of happiness you are choosing. If its source is the contact between senses and objects, it will follow this pattern — sweet first, bitter later. That is simply how it works.

Compared to sattvic happiness (poison-then-nectar), rajasic happiness inverts the sequence (nectar-then-poison). The Gita uses this clean contrast to make the distinction unmistakable.

The next shloka (18.39) describes tamasic happiness — which offers neither a sweet beginning nor a redemptive ending.

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