यदा कर्मसु काम्येषु भक्तिर्यशसि देहिनाम् । तदा त्रेता रजोवृत्तिरिति जानीहि बुद्धिमन् ॥ २८ ॥
yadā karmasu kāmyeṣu bhaktir yaśasi dehinām tadā tretā rajo-vṛttir iti jānīhi buddhiman
- yadā
- when
- karmasu
- in duties
- kāmyeṣu
- based on selfish desire
- bhaktiḥ
- devotion
- yaśasi
- in honor
- dehinām
- of the embodied souls
- tadā
- then
- tretā
- the age of Tretā
- rajaḥ-vṛttiḥ
- predominated by activities in the mode of passion
- iti
- thus
- jānīhi
- you should understand
- buddhi-man
- O intelligent King Parīkṣit
O most intelligent one, when the conditioned souls are devoted to their duties but have ulterior motives and seek personal prestige, you should understand such a situation to be the age of Tretā, in which the functions of passion are prominent.