aprakāśo.apravṛttiśca pramādo moha eva ca .
tamasyetāni jāyante vivṛddhe kurunandana ||14-13||
Darkness, inertness, heedlessness and delusion these arise when Tamas is predominant, O Arjuna.
In simple words
Krishna describes the signs of inertia dominating: "Darkness, sluggishness, carelessness, and confusion — these appear when inertia takes over, Arjuna."
Word-by-word meanings
अप्रकाशःdarknessअप्रवृत्तिःinertnessचandप्रमादःheedlessnessमोहःdelusionएवevenचandतमसिin inertiaएतानिtheseजायन्तेariseविवृद्धेhave become prdominantकुरुनन्दनO descendant of Kuru (Arjuna)
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
14.13 अप्रकाशः darkness? अप्रवृत्तिः inertness? च and? प्रमादः heedlessness? मोहः delusion? एव even? च and? तमसि in inertia? एतानि these? जायन्ते arise? विवृद्धे have become prdominant? कुरुनन्दन O descendant of Kuru (Arjuna).Commentary When Tamas increases? darkness? a desire to do nothing? forgetfulness of ones duties and confusion ome into existence.Darkness Absence of discrimination.Apravritti Inertness extreme inactivity.Pramada (heedlessness) and Moha (delusion) are the effects of darkness. These are the characteristics or marks which indicate that Tamas is predominant. Tamas is a great stumbling block to spiritual progress and success in any walk of life. It must be destroyed at all costs. People mistake Tamas for Sattva or Santi (peace). They take the Tamasic man for a silent Yogi All is Prarabdha Everything is Maya There is no world Why should I work Work will bind me. I am Brahman. This is not spirituality but pure and thick Tamas.
Swami Chinmayananda
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.
If a seeker discovers within themselves the characteristics described in this verse, they should understand that they are afflicted by the quality of tamas. Darkness refers to that state of intellect in which it finds itself incapable of making any decision. In common language, this state is called drowsiness, under whose influence the human intellect becomes utterly incapable of discriminating between truth and falsehood. We all experience this state daily when, in the night hours, we are overcome by sleep.
Inertia signifies the tendency to escape or flee from all manner of responsibilities, to feel oneself incapable of performing any action, and to lack effort and enthusiasm in acquiring anything in the world. All these are indicated by the word inertia. When tamas becomes predominant, all ambitions diminish. When the human being's vital force becomes dormant, only food and sleep remain as the two principal activities of their life.
As a result of all this, they become extremely negligent. They do not even hear the call of their innermost self. And in truth, they cannot become tyrannical like Ravana, for becoming wicked also requires great enthusiasm and tireless activity.
Becoming incapable of performing both auspicious and inauspicious deeds, they gradually sink into the abyss of delusion. They make faulty assessments of the world and misinterpret their own potential in life, and they constantly err in determining their practical relationships. Thus, the person who has understood neither themselves, nor the world, nor their relationships—their life is an illusion and their very existence is a grave error.
In this manner, after describing the effects of these three qualities upon the mind, the Teacher of the Gita wishes to awaken us to the understanding that the influence of these qualities does not remain confined to any single body during its lifetime alone. The tendencies of the mind that we generate and develop in this life, and which we strengthen by following them, also determine the destiny and condition of the soul after the body's death.
Apart from Vedantic philosophy, no other branch of knowledge has comprehensively considered the question of life after death. Though various religions offer different explanations on this subject, none disbelieve in the existence of life after death. In other traditions, regarding the soul's journey, there are only dogmatic pronouncements born of religious prejudice, but no reasoned philosophical inquiry worthy of the name.
Earlier in the Gita, there was already extensive discussion of rebirth. The complete separation of the subtle body from the gross body is what is called death. Therefore, death is the destiny of the gross body alone. It is not the sorrowful end of the eternal soul that dwells in the subtle body. When a soul has fulfilled its purpose in a particular body, it abandons that body and departs. The mind in the form of tendencies and the intellect constitute what is called the subtle body. Even while inhabiting a particular gross body in this life, the thoughts of the inner consciousness determine the nature of a person's actions. Therefore, the conclusion of Hindu philosophers of truth is entirely reasonable: that even after death, the soul moves in the direction determined by the combined results of the thoughts of the present life.
When a person relocates, they can go to the bank and withdraw only that sum of money which remains deposited in their name at that time—not the total amount they deposited in the past. Similarly, at the time of death, the quality and direction of our thoughts are determined solely by the combined results of the auspicious and inauspicious thoughts and deeds performed in life.
We have already seen that the nature of our thoughts is influenced by sattva, rajas, and tamas. Therefore, it is entirely reasonable that the destiny of a person after abandoning the body should be determined by whichever quality predominated during their lifetime. The following section of this chapter describes these very possibilities.
The Blessed Lord says: