🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 18.22

Chapter 18 · मोक्षसंन्यासयोग · Mokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga · "The Yoga of Liberation & Renunciation" · Verse 22 of 78

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यत्तु कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्कार्ये सक्तमहैतुकम्।अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पं च तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्।।18.22।।
— Bhagavad-Gītā 18.22 · the yathārtha śloka (Devanāgarī Sanskrit · canonical)

🪷 English Translations

Five authentic English voices · each from a distinct sampradāya · together revealing the verse's full śabda-tattva.

Shri Purohit Swami · Poetic English · 1935 · public domain · Cosmo Press tradition
18.22 But that which clings blindly to one idea as if it were all, without logic, truth or insight, that has its origin in Darkness.
Swami Sivananda · Direct prose · Divine Life Society
18.22 But that which clings to one single effect as if it were the whole, without reason, without foundation in Truth, and trivial that is declared to be Tamasic.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Word-key glosses · Advaita Ashrama · Śaṅkara-school
18.22 But tat, that knowledge; is udahrtam, said to be; tamasam, born of tamas; yat, which is; saktam, confined; ekasmin, to one; karye, from, to one body or to an external image etc., krtsnavat, as though it were all, as though it comprehended everything, thinking, 'The Self, or God, is only this much; there is nothing beyond it,'-as the naked Jainas hold that the soul conforms to and has the size of the body, or (as others hold) that God is merely a stone or wood-, remaining confined thus to one form; ahaitukam, which is irrational, bereft of logic; a-tattvarthavat, not concerned with truth-tattvartha, truth, means some-thing just as it is; that (knowledge) which has this (truth) as its object of comprehension is tattvarthavat; that without this is ; a-tattvarthavat-; and which, on account of the very fact of its being irrational, is alpam, trivial, because it is concerned with trifles or is productive of little result. This kind of knowledge is indeed found in non-discriminating creatures in whom tamas predominates. Now is being stated the threehold division of action:
Swami Ādidevānanda · Śrī-Vaiṣṇava perspective · Rāmānuja school
18.22 But that knowledge which clings to a 'single type of act' as what ought to be done, viz., act in the form of the worship of ghosts or evil spirits yielding very small fruits, as if it yielded all fruits; that work 'not founded on any reason for having attachment,' because it is not a source of all fruits; 'untrue' because it is based on a false view of things such as seeing differentiation in the nature of the Atman; 'insignificant', because the worship of ghosts and evil spirits yields poor results - for such reasons knowledge of this kind is declared to be Tamasika. After having thus classified the threefold division of knowledge relating to work according to Gunas in respect of a person who is alified for work, Sri Krsna explains the triple division of the acts that ought to be done, according to Gunas.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Academic precision · modern scholarly
18.22. That [instrument-of-knowledge], because of which, one, not realising the whole, gets indulged, without reason, in a particular activity, and which is unconcerned with the real nature of things and is insignificant - that is declared to be of the Tamas (Strand).

🪷 Hindi Translation · हिन्दी अनुवाद

For the Hindi-aware seer · Pūjya Swami Rāmsukhdās ji's translation · a high-readability modern Hindi rendering · Gītā-Press Gorakhpur tradition. (→ Full Mahāpurusha-detail page for the 102-year-living Sādhaka-Sañjīvanī Mahātmā.)

🪷 Swami Rāmsukhdās · Sādhaka-Sañjīvanī tradition · Gītā-Press Gorakhpur · highest modern Hindi reading
।।18.22।।किंतु जो (ज्ञान) एक कार्यरूप शरीरमें ही सम्पूर्णके तरह आसक्त है तथा जो युक्तिरहित, वास्तविक ज्ञानसे रहित और तुच्छ है, वह तामस कहा गया है।

🪷 English Commentaries · The Ācārya Voices

The classical commentary tradition rendered in English · each ācārya speaks from their own sampradāya · the seer chooses the depth of darśana.

Swami Sivananda · Verse-by-verse word-keys with Sanskrit anchors
18.22 यत् which? तु but? कृत्स्नवत् as if it were the whole? एकस्मिन् one single? कार्ये to effect? सक्तम् attached? अहैतुकम् without reason? अतत्त्वार्थवत् without foundation in Truth? अल्पम् trivial? च and? तत् that?,तामसम् Tamasic (dark)? उदाहृतम् is declared.Commentary The knowledge which regards that each and every object or being exists by itself and is perfect by itself? is Tamasic.One single effect Such as the body? thinking it to be the Self? or an idol? taking it for God? and thinking that there is nothing higher than that.The naked Jains consider that the soul which dwells in the body is of the same size as that of the body. Some regard that Isvara is a mere piece of stone or wood. Such knowledge is really not based on reason. It does not see things in their true light. It is narrow (Alpam) as it is not founded on reason. It produces very small results too. It extends over a limited area and is not allcomprehensive. This knowledge is said to be Tamasic? as it is found in Tamasic persons who are devoid of the power of discrimination.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Advaita-school commentary (Śaṅkara tradition)
18.22 But tat, that knowledge; is udahrtam, said to be; tamasam, born of tamas; yat, which is; saktam, confined; ekasmin, to one; karye, from, to one body or to an external image etc., krtsnavat, as though it were all, as though it comprehended everything, thinking, 'The Self, or God, is only this much; there is nothing beyond it,'-as the naked Jainas hold that the soul conforms to and has the size of the body, or (as others hold) that God is merely a stone or wood-, remaining confined thus to one form; ahaitukam, which is irrational, bereft of logic; a-tattvarthavat, not concerned with truth-tattvartha, truth, means some-thing just as it is; that (knowledge) which has this (truth) as its object of comprehension is tattvarthavat; that without this is ; a-tattvarthavat-; and which, on account of the very fact of its being irrational, is alpam, trivial, because it is concerned with trifles or is productive of little result. This kind of knowledge is indeed found in non-discriminating creatures in whom tamas predominates. Now is being stated the threehold division of action:
Swami Ādidevānanda · Rāmānuja Śrī-Vaiṣṇava commentary
18.22 But that knowledge which clings to a 'single type of act' as what ought to be done, viz., act in the form of the worship of ghosts or evil spirits yielding very small fruits, as if it yielded all fruits; that work 'not founded on any reason for having attachment,' because it is not a source of all fruits; 'untrue' because it is based on a false view of things such as seeing differentiation in the nature of the Atman; 'insignificant', because the worship of ghosts and evil spirits yields poor results - for such reasons knowledge of this kind is declared to be Tamasika. After having thus classified the threefold division of knowledge relating to work according to Gunas in respect of a person who is alified for work, Sri Krsna explains the triple division of the acts that ought to be done, according to Gunas.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Modern academic scholarship
18-20-22 Sarvabhutesu etc. upto samudahrtam. In the classified ones : i.e., [classified] as gods, human beings, etc. Considers as [really] different : i.e., with the thought 'Here on this depends my pleasure; here in that lies my displeasure'. Without reason : To take recourse to wrath, desire etc., slavishly under the influence of one's own addiction and also without examining the cause, in named as a thing born of the Tamas (Strand).
Swami Chinmayānanda · Chinmaya Mission · modern Vedantic teaching
।।18.22।। तमोगुण के आधिक्य से अभिभूत बुद्धि किसी एक परिच्छिन्न कार्य में इस प्रकार आसक्त होती है मानो वह कार्य ही सम्पूर्ण सत्य हो। वह कभी कारण का विचार ही नहीं करती। तामसिक लोगों का यह ज्ञान अत्यन्त निम्नस्तरीय है। प्राय ऐसे लोग कट्टरवादी तथा अपने धर्म? भक्ति? जीवन के दृष्टिकोण और मूल्यों के विषय में अत्यन्त हठवादी होते हैं। वे जगत् का तथा अन्य घटनाओं के कारण का कभी अन्वेषण नहीं करते हैं। श्री शंकराचार्य कहते हैं कि इनका ज्ञान निर्युक्तिक होता है अर्थात् किसी प्रामाणिक युक्ति पर आश्रित नहीं होता।ऐसी भ्रमित कट्टरवादी और पूर्वाग्रहों से युक्त बुद्धि के द्वारा अवलोकन करते हुए तामसी लोग जगत् को कभी यथार्थ रूप में नहीं देख पाते। इतना ही नहीं? वरन् वे अपनी कल्पनाओं को जगत् पर थोपकर उसे सर्वथा विपरीत रूप में भी देखते हैं। वास्तव में? तमोगुणी लोग जगत् को मात्र अपने भोग का विषय ही मानते हैं। वे विश्व के अधिष्ठान परमात्मा की सर्वथा उपेक्षा करते हैं। मान और दम्भ के कारण उनका ज्ञान संकुचित होता है।सारांशत? द्वैतप्रपंच को देखते हुए उसके अद्वैत स्वरूप को पहचानना सात्त्विक ज्ञान है नामरूपमय सृष्टि के भेदों को ही देखना और उन्हें सत्य मानना राजस ज्ञान है और अपूर्ण को ही पूर्ण मानना तामस ज्ञान है।हमें इसका विस्मरण नहीं होना चाहिए कि पूर्वोक्त तथा आगे भी कथनीय त्रिविध वर्गीकरण का प्रयोजन अन्य लोगों के विश्लेषण के लिए न होकर? आत्मनिरीक्षण के लिए हैं। साधक को समयसमय पर स्वयं का मूल्यांकन करते रहना चाहिए।अब? कर्म की त्रिविधता का वर्णन करते हैं

🪷 Hindi Vyākhyā · हिन्दी व्याख्या

Pūjya Swami Rāmsukhdās ji's Sādhaka-Sañjīvanī · one of the great modern Hindi vyākhyās of the Gītā · direct, pure, deeply Vedāntic · the modern Sanātana-jāgaraṇa. (→ Full Mahāpurusha-detail page · 1904-2005 · Corner 1 Mādhurya operational anchor · whose 6-lakṣaṇa-śaraṇāgati IS Constitutional Principle 24.)

🪷 Swami Rāmsukhdās · Sādhaka-Sañjīvanī · Hindi vyākhyā · the modern bilingual anchor
।।18.22।। व्याख्या -- यत्तु (टिप्पणी प0 904.2) कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्कार्ये सक्तम् -- तामस मनुष्य एक ही शरीरमें सम्पूर्णकी तरह आसक्त रहता है अर्थात् उत्पन्न और नष्ट होनेवाले इस पाञ्चभौतिक शरीरको ही अपना स्वरूप मानता है। वह मानता है कि मैं ही छोटा बच्चा था? मैं ही जवान हूँ और मैं ही बूढ़ा हो जाऊँगा मैं भोगी? बलवान् और सुखी हूँ मैं धनी और बड़े कुटुम्बवाला हूँ मेरे समान दूसरा कौन है इत्यादि। ऐसी मान्यता मूढ़ताके कारण ही होती है -- इत्यज्ञानविमोहिताः (16। 15)।अहैतुकम् -- तामस मनुष्यकी मान्यता युक्ति और शास्त्रप्रमाणसे विरुद्ध होती है। यह शरीर हरदम बदल रहा है? शरीरादि वस्तुमात्र अभावमें परिवर्तित हो रही है? दृश्यमात्र अदृश्य हो रहा है और इनमें तू सदा ज्योंकात्यों रहता है अतः यह शरीर और तू एक कैसे हो सकते हैं -- इस प्रकारकी युक्तियोंको वह स्वीकार नहीं करता।अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पं च -- यह शरीर और मैं दोनों अलगअलग हैं -- इस वास्तविक ज्ञान(विवेक) से वह रहित है। उसकी समझ अत्यन्त तुच्छ है अर्थात् तुच्छताकी प्राप्ति करानेवाली है। इसलिये इसको ज्ञान कहनेमें भगवान्को संकोच हुआ है। कारण कि तामस पुरुषमें मूढ़ताकी प्रधानता होती है। मूढ़ता और ज्ञानका आपसमें विरोध है. अतः भगवान्ने ज्ञान पद न देकर यत् और तत् पदसे ही काम चलाया है।तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् -- युक्तिरहित? अल्प और अत्यन्त तुच्छ समझको ही महत्त्व देना तामस कहा गया है।जब तामस समझ ज्ञान है ही नहीं और भगवान्को भी इसको ज्ञान कहनेमें संकोच हुआ है? तो फिर इसका वर्णन ही क्यों किया गया कारण कि भगवान्ने उन्नीसवें श्लोकमें ज्ञानके त्रिविध भेद कहनेका उपक्रम किया है? इसलिये सात्त्विक और राजसज्ञानका वर्णन करनेके बाद तामस समझको भी कहनेकी आवश्यकता थी। सम्बन्ध -- अब भगवान् सात्त्विक कर्मका वर्णन करते हैं।

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BG 18.22local Bhagavad-Gītā verse route and source-anchor sectionChapter 18 hubMokṣa-Sannyāsa-Yoga · The Yoga of Liberation & RenunciationMBh 6.40.22exact Bhīṣma-Parva source route for this Gītā verse/bhagavad-gitamaster index for all 18 chapters and 701 verse routesBhīṣma-ParvaMahābhārata narrative home where the Bhagavad-Gītā is received/mahabharatafull Itihāsa source spine for Vyāsa Maharṣi's MahābhārataBG 1 · Arjuna-Viṣāda YogaTVAM-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Arjuna-Viṣāda YogaBG 2 · Sāṅkhya YogaTVAM-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Sāṅkhya YogaBG 3 · Karma YogaTVAM-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Karma YogaBG 4 · Jñāna-Karma-SannyāsaTVAM-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Jñāna-Karma-SannyāsaBG 5 · Karma-Sannyāsa YogaTVAM-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Karma-Sannyāsa YogaBG 6 · Dhyāna YogaTVAM-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Dhyāna YogaBG 7 · Krishna-Tattva (Jñāna-Vijñāna)TAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Krishna-Tattva (Jñāna-Vijñāna)BG 8 · Akṣara-Brahma YogaTAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Akṣara-Brahma YogaBG 9 · Rāja-Vidyā Rāja-GuhyaTAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Rāja-Vidyā Rāja-GuhyaBG 10 · Vibhūti YogaTAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Vibhūti YogaBG 11 · Viśvarūpa-Darśana YogaTAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Viśvarūpa-Darśana YogaBG 12 · Bhakti YogaTAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Bhakti YogaBG 13 · Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña YogaANTYA-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña YogaBG 14 · Guṇa-Traya-VibhāgaANTYA-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Guṇa-Traya-VibhāgaBG 15 · Puruṣottama YogaANTYA-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Puruṣottama YogaBG 16 · Daivāsura-Sampad-VibhāgaANTYA-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Daivāsura-Sampad-VibhāgaBG 17 · Śraddhā-Traya-VibhāgaANTYA-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Śraddhā-Traya-VibhāgaBG 2.47niṣkāma-karma-yoga action disciplineBG 4.34praṇipāta · paripraśna · sevā before tattva-darśī teachersBG 7.7mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat · no source higher than KrishnaBG 9.17Krishna as father, mother, supporter, and grandfatherBG 10.30Krishna as Time among reckonersBG 13.23Paramātmā as witness, permitter, supporter, enjoyer, and LordBG 15.15Krishna seated in every heart as memory, knowledge, and forgetfulnessBG 18.61Īśvara situated in the heart of all beingsBG 18.66Carama-Śloka surrender discipline and final refuge/vishwaroopa-darshanaall 18 Gītā chapters rendered as one chart-aware darśana/vishvarupa-chartBG 11 chart-as-Viśvarūpa-darśana aperture/bija-sutrasfounder-curated bīja-pada exposition layer inside selected Gītā verse pages/binduDiamond of Darśanas frame for Gītā source recognition/philosophyKrishna = Paramaatma = Parabrahman constitutional foundation/llms.txtbrief AI-agent source map/llms-full.txtcomprehensive AI-agent access map
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सर्वम् कृष्णार्पणम् — this verse is one maṇi (jewel) on Krishna's thread (BG 7.7)