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Bhagavad-gītā 18.22

యత్తు కృత్స్నవదేకస్మిన్కార్యే సక్తమహైతుకమ్ । అతత్త్వార్థవదల్పం చ తత్తామసముదాహృతమ్ ॥ ౨౨ ॥
yat tu kṛtsna-vad ekasmin
[yat tu kritsna-vad ekasmin]
kārye saktam ahaitukam
[kaarye saktam ahaitukam]
atattvārtha-vad alpaṁ ca
[atattvaartha-vad alpam cha]
tat tāmasam udāhṛtam
[tat taamasam udaahritam]
Word-for-word
yat — that which tu — but kṛtsna - vat — as all in all ekasmin — in one kārye — work saktam — attached ahaitukam — without cause atattva - artha - vat — without knowledge of reality alpam — very meager ca — and tat — that tāmasam — in the mode of darkness udāhṛtam — is said to be .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yat tu kṛtsna-vad ekasmin
yat
that which
tu
but
kṛtsna - vat
as all in all
ekasmin
in one
kārye saktam ahaitukam
kārye
work
saktam
attached
ahaitukam
without cause
atattvārtha-vad alpaṁ ca
atattva - artha - vat
without knowledge of reality
alpam
very meager
ca
and
tat tāmasam udāhṛtam
tat
that
tāmasam
in the mode of darkness
udāhṛtam
is said to be .
Important Words
  • kṛtsna-vat — as if the whole
    A single act treated as the entirety of dharma or meaning. The fragment masquerades as totality — and the deluded believer cannot tell the difference.
  • ekasmin — in one
    Locative singular. Fixated *on one* — with kārye: on a single work. The verse pictures monomaniacal attachment to a narrow activity (often sectarian, often fanatical) as the hallmark of tāmasa-jñāna.
  • ahaitukam — without proper cause/reason
    Adverbial. The attachment has no rational ground; it is mere clinging. Tamas does not reason — it merely seizes.
  • atattva-artha-vat — lacking knowledge of reality
    The compound name for someone whose grasp does not touch tattva — the actual nature of things. The fragment-knowledge floats free from the real.
  • tāmasam — in the mode of ignorance
    The classification. The verse completes the threefold map of jñāna — sāttvika sees unity, rājasa sees plurality, tāmasa sees only its own narrow fixation.
And that knowledge by which one is attached to one kind of work as the all in all, without knowledge of the truth, and which is very meager, is said to be in the mode of darkness.
Purport

The “knowledge” of the common man is always in the mode of darkness or ignorance because every living entity in conditional life is born into the mode of ignorance. One who does not develop knowledge through the authorities or scriptural injunctions has knowledge that is limited to the body. He is not concerned about acting in terms of the directions of scripture. For him God is money, and knowledge means the satisfaction of bodily demands. Such knowledge has no connection with the Absolute Truth. It is more or less like the knowledge of the ordinary animals: the knowledge of eating, sleeping, defending and mating. Such knowledge is described here as the product of the mode of darkness. In other words, knowledge concerning the spirit soul beyond this body is called knowledge in the mode of goodness, knowledge producing many theories and doctrines by dint of mundane logic and mental speculation is the product of the mode of passion, and knowledge concerned only with keeping the body comfortable is said to be in the mode of ignorance.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
22. That knowledge which is without reason, attached to one material action, not concerned with truth, and which is scant, is known as knowledge in tamo-guṇa.
Commentary

This verse speaks of tamasic knowledge. Knowledge which is speculative only (ahaitukam—not with reference to any scripture), which is extremely attached to performing one material activity such as eating or bathing, drinking or enjoying with a woman, with disregard for Vedic activities like sacrifice, with no idea of real truth (atattva artha vat), knowledge which is scant like that of an animal, is known as tamasic knowledge. Knowledge of tat, which is different from the body is sattvic. Knowledge of scriptures of logic and such, which gives rise to various doctrines, is rajasic. Knowledge, which is only of bathing, eating and other material actions, is tamasic. This is a summary of the three types of knowledge.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
22. That knowledge which is without reason, attached to one action, not concerned with truth, which is scant, is known as knowledge in tama guṇa.
Commentary

This verse speaks of knowledge in the mode of ignorance. That method of knowledge which is just according to ones nature (ahaitukam), not arising from scripture, and involved in one material action only (ekasmin) and nothing else (kṛtsna-vad), such as bathing, or eating or associating with women, with no attachment to Vedic actions such as sacrifice or charity; which does not have the goal of arriving at truth (atattvārtha-vad); which is insignificant like that of an animal (alpam), concerning only material bathing or eating, is called knowledge in the mode of ignorance.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
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:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
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.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
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 Sivananda Classical
Translation
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.
Commentary

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 Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
18.22 But that (knowledge) is said to be born of tamas which is confined to one form as though it were all, which is irrational, not concern with truth and triivial.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
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.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 2.42 BG 7.15 BG 16.9 SB 5.5.5 SB 11.25.4 SB 7.5.30 CC Madhya 25.50 CC Madhya 6.86 CC Madhya 17.138 Īśa Upaniṣad 9 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.9
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Knowledge that fixes on one work as if it were everything, without truth, without reason, in scarcity — tamasic.
Practical Applications
  • Refuse one-track tamasic obsession.
  • Recognize fanaticism without truth as tamasic.
  • Open to the wider field.
Reflection Questions
  • Where have I let one-track thinking dominate?
  • What truth-grounding restores breadth?
Analogy

A man stares at one leaf and forgets the tree, the forest, and the sky. He insists the leaf is the whole world. Tāmasa knowledge is precisely this: total absorption in a fragment, mistaking the splinter for the timber.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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