Bhagavad Gita · Gunatraya Vibhaga YogaChapter 14, Shloka 8 (14.8)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
तमस्त्वज्ञानजं विद्धि मोहनं सर्वदेहिनाम्
प्रमादालस्यनिद्राभिस्तन्निबध्नाति भारत
॥ 14.8 ॥
tamastvajñānajaṃ viddhi mohanaṃ sarvadehinām
pramādālasyanidrābhistannibadhnāti bhārata
Translation
"O Bharata, know tamas to be born of ignorance and the deluder of all beings; it binds through heedlessness, laziness and sleep."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. mohanaṃ mohakaram avivekakaraṃ — producing delusion and lack of discernment; pramādālasyanidrābhiḥ.
Acharya Ramanuja. jñānād anyad iha ajñānam abhipretam; jñānaṃ vastuyāthātmyāvabodhaḥ, tasmād anyat tadviparyayajñānaṃ — here ignorance means not the absence of knowledge but reversed knowledge (understanding a thing wrongly); moho viparyayajñānam.
Shridhara Swami. Simple definitions of three words: pramādo 'navadhānaṃ, ālasyam anudyamaḥ, nidrā cittasyāvasādo layaḥ — heedlessness = carelessness, laziness = not making effort, sleep = the mind sinking, exhausted, into dullness.
Madhusudana Saraswati. The word "tu" is sattvarajopekṣayā viśeṣadyotanārthaḥ — it marks tamas as distinct from sattva and rajas; tamas comes ajñānād āvaraṇaśaktirūpāt — from ignorance in the form of the power of concealment.
Madhvacharya. ajñānaṃ jāyate yatas tad ajñānajam — that from which ignorance is born; the authority is 14.17.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.