14.7 Restlessness, born of thirst Krishna speaks

रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम्
तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम्

rajo rāgātmakaṁ viddhi tṛiṣhṇā-saṅga-samudbhavam
tan nibadhnāti kaunteya karma-saṅgena dehinam

Know restlessness to be of the nature of craving, arising from thirst and attachment. It binds the embodied one by attachment to action.

Explanation

Restlessness, and where it comes from.

rajas is of the nature of craving, arising from thirst and attachment, and it binds by attachment to action.

Note that it is not laziness that gets diagnosed as the driver of busyness. The engine under a great deal of activity is named here as thirst, which is a less flattering account of productivity than most.

Word by word

rajaḥ: mode of passion
rāga-ātmakam: of the nature of passion
viddhi: know
tṛiṣhṇā: desires
saṅga: association
samudbhavam: arises from
tat: that
nibadhnāti: binds
kaunteya: Arjun, the son of Kunti
karma-saṅgena: through attachment to fruitive actions
dehinam: the embodied soul