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तमस्त्वज्ञानजं विद्धि मोहनं सर्वदेहिनाम्।प्रमादालस्यनिद्राभिस्तन्निबध्नाति भारत।।14.8।।

tamas tv ajñāna-jaṁ viddhi mohanaṁ sarva-dehinām pramādālasya-nidrābhis tan nibadhnāti bhārata

Sanskrit Chant Recitation
Chapter 14, Verse 8
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Scripture Translation Room

Sanskrit to English Translation

Translator:
But know thou Tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all embodied beings; it binds fast, O Arjuna, through heedlessness, indolence, and sleep.

A Reading - Rantideb

Why: ignorance, know it to be born of unwisdom, deluding all embodied beings, it binds through negligence, laziness, and sleep, naming dullness, confusion, and inertia as this quality's specific character.

In life: periods of low motivation and mental fog aren't always laziness in the moral sense, sometimes they're simply this specific quality currently dominant, and recognizing that distinction changes how harshly you judge yourself during them.

Teaching: the next time you're in a foggy, low-motivation stretch, name it specifically as this quality being currently dominant rather than a personal moral failing, that reframe alone often reduces the harsh self-judgment that otherwise compounds the fog.

tamaḥmode of ignorance
tubut
ajñāna-jamborn of ignorance
viddhiknow
mohanamillusion
sarva-dehināmfor all the embodied souls
pramādanegligence
ālasyalaziness
nidrābhiḥand sleep
tatthat
nibadhnātibinds
bhārataArjun, the son of Bharat

Deep Classical Commentary (Bhashya)

Author:
14.8 तमः inertia? तु but? अज्ञानजम् born of ignorance? विद्धि know? मोहनम् deluding? सर्वदेहिनाम् to all,embodied beings? प्रमादालस्यनिद्राभिः by heedlessness? indolence and sleep? तत् that? निबध्नाति binds fast? भारत O descendant of Bharata (Arjuna).Commentary Tamas is that binding force with a tendency to lethargy? sloth and foolish actions. It causes delusion or nondiscrimination. It binds him who associates the Self with the body. A Tamasic man acts under the compulsion of the wants of the body. He has no power of judgment. Troubled by the wants of the body he acts under pressure to keep himself alive. His actions are not guided by reason. They are on the plane of instinct. His senses are dull. He becomes infatuated and stupefied. He has no inclination to work. He yawns much. He sleeps too much. He always wants to sleep. He nevr knows when and how to act? what? to whom and how to talk. He takes delight in following the wrong path. He does not know how to behave or how to address others. He is thoughtless and ignorant. He forgets everything. He is negligent and indolent. He is just in a stage higher than lifeless matter.He who is under the grip of heedlessness (Pramada) is not able to discriminate between the eternal and the noneternal. This is an enemy of illumination? the effect of Sattva. He who is overpowered by laziness (Alasya) is not able to exert. This is an enemy of Pravritti? the effect of Rajas. Sleep (Nidra) is LayaVritti? (a state of absorption into ignorance) which is dependent on Tamas. This is the enemy of the works done by Sattva and Rajas.