Shloka 14
तमोगुण-निरूपण
Analysis of Tamas and its Marks
अकृते कृतमानित्वमज्ञाने ज्ञानमानिता । अमैत्री विकृताभावो हा श्रद्धा मूढठभावना
akṛte kṛtamānitvam ajñāne jñānamānitā | amaitrī vikṛtābhāvo hā śraddhā mūḍhaṭhabhāvanā ||
বায়ু ক’লে— নকৰা কামক কৰা বুলি গৰ্ব কৰা; অজ্ঞানত থাকিও নিজকে জ্ঞানী বুলি ভাবা; মৈত্ৰীৰ অভাৱ; বিকৃত আৰু কলুষিত স্বভাৱ; শ্ৰদ্ধাৰ ক্ষয়; আৰু একগুঁয়ে, মোহাচ্ছন্ন চিন্তা— এইবোৰ অন্তঃকৰণৰ দুষণ আৰু নৈতিক পতনৰ লক্ষণ।
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse lists ethical failings that signal moral decline: boasting of unperformed deeds, claiming knowledge while ignorant, lacking goodwill toward others, developing a distorted temperament, losing śraddhā (faith in dharma), and clinging stubbornly to deluded notions. Together they warn against self-deception and the erosion of character.
In this passage of the Aśvamedhika Parva, Vāyudeva speaks as a moral instructor, enumerating inner vices and psychological traits that lead a person away from dharma. The focus is didactic—diagnosing corrupt tendencies rather than describing an external action.