Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18, Verse 31

यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च |
अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धि: सा पार्थ राजसी || 31||

yayā dharmam adharmaṁ cha kāryaṁ chākāryam eva cha
ayathāvat prajānāti buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī

yayā—by which; dharmam—righteousness; adharmam—unrighteousness; cha—and; kāryam—right conduct; cha—and; akāryam—wrong conduct; eva—certainly; cha—and; ayathā-vat—confused; prajānāti—distinguish; buddhiḥ—intellect; sā—that; pārtha—Arjun, the son of Pritha; rājasī—in the mode of passion

yaya dharmam adharmam cha karyam chakaryam eva cha
ayathavat prajanati buddhih sa partha rajasi

Translation

BG 18.31: The intellect is considered in the mode of passion when it is confused between righteousness and unrighteousness, and cannot distinguish between right and wrong conduct, O Parth.

Commentary

The rājasic intellect becomes mixed due to personal attachments. At times it sees clearly, but when self-interest comes into play, it becomes tainted and confused. For example, there are people who are very competent in their profession, but childish in familial relationships. They succeed on the career front but become utter failures on the home front because their attachment prevents them from proper perception and conduct. The rājasic intellect, colored by attachments and aversions, likes and dislikes is unable to discern the proper course of action. It becomes confused between the important and the trivial, the permanent and the transient, the valuable and the insignificant.