Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa
अयुक्तः प्राकृतः स्तब्धः शठो नैष्कृतिकोऽलसः ।
विषादी दीर्घसूत्री च कर्ता तामस उच्यते ॥२८॥
ayuktaḥ prākṛtaḥ stabdhaḥ
śaṭho naiṣkṛtiko 'lasaḥ
viṣādī dīrgha-sūtrī ca
kartā tāmasa ucyate
Word for word (synonyms)
- ayuktaḥ
- without reference to the scriptural injunctions
- prākṛtaḥ
- materialistic
- stabdhaḥ
- obstinate
- śaṭhaḥ
- deceitful
- naiṣkṛtikaḥ
- expert in insulting others
- alasaḥ
- lazy
- viṣādī
- morose
- dīrgha-sūtrī
- procrastinating
- ca
- also
- kartā
- worker
- tāmasaḥ
- in the mode of ignorance
- ucyate
- is said to be
Translation
And that worker who is always engaged in work against the injunction of the scripture, who is materialistic, obstinate, cheating and expert in insulting others, who is lazy, always morose and procrastinating, is a worker in the mode of ignorance.
Purport
In the scriptural injunctions we find what sort of work should be performed and what sort of work should not be performed. Those who do not care for those injunctions engage in work not to be done, and such persons are generally materialistic. They work according to the modes of nature, not according to the injunctions of the scripture. Such workers are not very gentle, and generally they are always cunning and expert in insulting others. They are very lazy; even though they have some duty, they do not do it properly, and they put it aside to be done later on. Therefore they appear to be morose. They procrastinate; anything which can be done in an hour they drag on for years. Such workers are situated in the mode of ignorance.
What this verse teaches
Worker (karta) in three modes
| Goodness | Passion | Ignorance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The worker | free from all material attachments and false ego, who is enthusiastic and resolute and who is indifferent to success or failure 18.26 | attached to the fruits of his labor and who passionately wants to enjoy them, who is greedy, envious and impure and moved by happiness and distress 18.27 | materialistic, obstinate, cheating and expert in insulting others, who is lazy, always morose and procrastinating 18.28 |
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.