Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, Verse 37

श्रीभगवानुवाच । काम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भवः । महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम्

śrībhagavānuvāca | kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajoguṇasamudbhavaḥ | mahāśano mahāpāpmā viddhyenamiha vairiṇam

Translation

It is Desire, it is Wrath, born of the energy of Rajas, all-devouring, all-sinful; that, know thou, is the foe here.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

kāmaḥ

desire

eṣaḥ

this

krodhaḥ

wrath

eṣaḥ

this

rajoguṇasamudbhavaḥ

of mobility, from the quality, birth, whose, it

mahāśanaḥ

great, devouring, whose, it

mahāpāpmā

very hurtful

viddhi

know (thou)

enam

this

iha

here

vairiṇam

the foe

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

The enemy of the whole world is desire, from which all the evil comes to living beings. When obstructed by some cause, desire is transformed into wrath. Wrath is desire itself. It is born of the energy of Rajas. Or, desire itself is the cause of the energy of Rajas; for when desire arises, it rouses the Rajas and urges the person to action. It is very sinful; for it is only when urged by desire that a man commits sin. Wherefore, know that this desire is man's foe here in saṃsāra.