BG 18.38
विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगाद्यत्तदग्रेऽमृतोपमम्
परिणामे विषमिव तत्सुखं राजसं स्मृतम्
viṣayendriyasaṃyogād
yat tad agre 'mṛtopamam
pariṇāme viṣam iva
tat sukhaṃ rājasaṃ smṛtam
SYNONYMS
viṣaya-indriya-saṃyogāt: from the contact of senses with their objects | yat: That | tat: which | agre: at first | amṛta-upamam: like elixir | pariṇāme: in the end | viṣam-iva: like poison | tat 2: that | sukham: pleasure | rājasam: Rajasika | smṛtam: is said |
TRANSLATION
That pleasure which arises from the contact of senses with their objects, which is like elixir at first but like poison in the end, is said to be Rajasika.
PURPORT
That which at the ‘beginning,’ i.e., at the time of experience looks like elixir because of the contact of senses with their objects agreable to them, but ‘at the end,’ i.e., when satiation or further incapacity to enjoy due to over-indulgence in them occurs, looks like poison—that pleasure is said to be Rajasika. In this latter state these so-called enjoyments cause the misery of Naraka.