यया स्वप्नं भयं शोकं विषादं मदमेव च | न विमुञ्चति दुर्मेधा धृतिः सा पार्थ तामसी ||१८-३५||
yayā svapnaṃ bhayaṃ śokaṃ viṣādaṃ madameva ca .
na vimuñcati durmedhā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī ||18-35||
That, by which a stupid man does not abandon sleep, fear, grief, despair and also conceit that firmness, O Arjuna, is Tamasic.
In simple words
Krishna describes dark willpower: "The stubbornness of a dull person who will not let go of excessive sleep, fear, grief, despair, and arrogance — that willpower is dark."
18.35 यया by which? स्वप्नम् sleep? भयम् fear? शोकम् grief? विषादम् despair? मदम् conceit? एव indeed? च and? न not? विमुञ्चति abandons? दुर्मेधाः a stupid man? धृतिः firmness? सा that? पार्थ O Arjuna? तामसी Tamasic (dark).Commentary The man who is an embodiment of darkness is made up of every possible kind of evil. He is very indolent and sinful. He is inordinately addicted to sleep. He considers these to be only proper. He experiences sorrow on account of his evil actions. As he is very much attached to the body he entertains great fear. He is ever discontented at heart. He is lustful and selfconceited. He does not know how to behave. He is rude and insolent. He indulges much in sensual pleasures.
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
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.
Modern
It is not difficult to understand the tamasic resolve described in this verse, for most of us possess resolve of this very category. The resolve that sustains sleep, fear, and similar states is called tamasic. The word "dream" refers to the mind's projected imaginings—those mental constructs that typically remain submerged in the state of sleep. That condition of experience is a dream, wherein despite the actual absence of objects, the mind enjoys false, imaginary subjects. People dominated by the quality of tamas project beauty and happiness onto external objects through their minds, and then labor and struggle to obtain them. Fear—such unwise people needlessly imagine a dark future and become frightened by it. It is possible that the fearful event may never occur at all, yet the imaginary fear alone is sufficient to destroy a person's balance, restraint, and contentment. Many of us have experienced such fear in our lives. Some people fear that they will die tomorrow, yet they wake each day as healthy as before—mentally speaking, such people suffer from the disease of panic. And the firmness with which they cling to this knot of fear is truly remarkable. Sorrow, despondency, and delusion—these three are causes that diminish human capacity. The tamasic person, holding these, experiences a kind of inner emptiness and exhaustion. A person grieves over misfortunes that occurred in the past; seeing the future as dark, the mind becomes filled with despondency; and in the present, the deluded person experiences pride in living a lustful, unethical life. A person who sustains these five life-values—dreams and the rest—is dull-witted, and such a person's resolve is said to be tamasic. After this, now we describe the happiness that is the fruit of action, which is threefold. The Blessed Lord says—