Verse 14.13
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
अप्रकाशोऽप्रवृत्तिश्च प्रमादो मोह एव च | तमस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे कुरुनन्दन ||१३||
Transliteration (IAST)
aprakāśo 'pravṛttiś ca pramādo moha eva ca | tamasy etāni jāyante vivṛddhe kuru-nandana ||13||
Word-by-Word Meanings
aprakāśaḥ-darkness/non-illumination
apravṛttiḥ-inactivity/inertia
pramādaḥ-heedlessness/negligence
mohaḥ-delusion
tamasi-in Tamas
vivṛddhe-when predominant
kuru-nandana-O joy of the Kurus
Translation
Darkness, inactivity, heedlessness, and delusion - these arise when Tamas is predominant, O joy of the Kurus.
Commentary
Shankaracharya explains that Tamas manifests as the absence of light (aprakāśa) in the intellect, leading to inability to act (apravṛtti), carelessness (pramāda), and fundamental confusion about reality (moha). Madhva notes that these four symptoms form a descending spiral - darkness leads to inaction, which leads to negligence, which deepens delusion.
Themes
jnanamoksha