Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 14, Verse 8
तमस्त्वज्ञानजं विद्धि मोहनं सर्वदेहिनाम् । प्रमादालस्यनिद्राभिस्तन्निबध्नाति भारत
tamastvajñānajaṃ viddhi mohanaṃ sarvadehinām | pramādālasyanidrābhistannibadhnāti bhārata
Translation
But, know thou Tamas to be born of unwisdom, deluding all embodied beings; by heedlessness, indolence and sloth, it binds fast, O Bhārata.
— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri
Word meanings
- tamaḥ
- inertia
- tu
- indeed
- ajñānajam
- from ignorance, born
- viddhi
- know
- mohanam
- the causer of delusion
- sarvadehinām
- (of) all, of embodied
- pramādālasyanidrābhiḥ
- by heedlessness, and, by indolence, and, by sloth, and
- tat
- that
- nibadhnāti
- binds
- bhārata
- O Bhārata
Śaṅkarācārya's commentary
The third guṇa, Tamas, causes delusion or non-discrimination. It binds the embodied one fast through heedlessness, indolence and sloth.