यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च | अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ राजसी ||
yayā dharmam adharmaṁ ca kāryaṁ cākāryam eva ca ayathāvat prajānāti buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī
Translation
That intellect which wrongly understands dharma and adharma, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done — O Arjuna, that intellect is rajasic.
Interpretation
Rajasic intellect: one that comprehends dharma and adharma, proper and improper action, but imperfectly — ayathavat (not as they really are, distortedly). The rajasic intellect is not completely wrong but its discrimination is corrupted by desire and self-interest. It justifies what benefits the self as 'dharmic,' it finds reasons why exceptions should be made in its own case, it mistakes partial truth for the whole. This is the intellect of sophisticated rationalization — intelligent enough to construct arguments but compromised enough to argue for what ego wants.