📿 Shloka Collection

Anubandham Kshayam Hinsam

Gita 18.25 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18 — Moksha Sannyasa Yoga
अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनवेक्ष्य च पौरुषम् ।
मोहादारभ्यते कर्म यत्तत्तामसमुच्यते ॥
Anubandham kshayam hinsam anavekshya cha paurusham
Mohad arabhyate karma yat tat tamasam uchyate
अनुबन्धम्
consequences — future bondage
क्षयम्
loss — destruction
हिंसाम्
harm — violence
अनवेक्ष्य
without considering — without looking at
पौरुषम्
one's own capacity — one's strength
मोहात्
out of delusion
आरभ्यते
is undertaken — is begun
तामसम्
tamasic — born of tamas

Tamasic action is the most reckless. It is undertaken out of sheer delusion, without pausing to consider four critical things: the consequences it will bring, the losses it will cause, the harm it will inflict on others, and whether one even has the capacity to carry it through.

This is impulse masquerading as action. There is no plan, no foresight, no sense of proportion. A person acting tamasically charges ahead because something inside says 'do it' — not reason, not duty, just a murky compulsion. The damage to oneself and others only becomes visible afterward.

Krishna's list of what the tamasic doer ignores is precise: anubandha (bondage that follows), kshaya (what will be destroyed), hinsa (who will be hurt), and paurusha (whether the task is even within reach). Ignoring all four at once is the signature of tamas.

Tamasic action involves three blind spots: blindness to consequences, blindness to harm, and blindness to one's own limitations. Together, these make it the most dangerous form of action.

With this shloka, the threefold classification of action is complete. The next shlokas (18.26-28) move on to classify the doer — the karta — into sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic types.

Chapter 18 · 25 / 78
Chapter 18 · 25 / 78 Next →