Verse 17.19
मूढग्राहेणात्मनो यत्पीडया क्रियते तपः ।
परस्योत्सादनार्थं वा तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ॥
Transliteration
mūḍhagrāheṇātmano yatpīḍayā kriyate tapaḥ |
parasyotsādanārthaṃ vā tattāmasamudāhṛtam ||
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3
Translation
Austerity performed out of a deluded notion, with torment to oneself, or in order to harm another, is called tamasic.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08
Word by word
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08
Explanation
Austerity is tamasic when it springs from a foolish or deluded fixation, involves torturing oneself, or aims at harming someone else. This is the darkest form, where discipline is either blind or destructive. It recalls the fierce self-torment criticised earlier in the chapter. The verse also hints at practices undertaken to gain power over others. Krishna makes clear that such efforts, however intense, belong to ignorance and lead away from freedom.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08