Shloka 22
भीष्मविक्रमदर्शनं तथा क्रौञ्चारुणव्यूहविधानम् | Bhīṣma’s Ascendancy and the Organization of the Krauñcāruṇa Formation
यत्तु कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन् कार्य सक्तमहैतुकम् । अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पं च तत् तामसमुदाह्ृतम्
yat tu kṛtsnavad ekasmin kārye saktam ahaitukam | atattvārthavad alpaṃ ca tat tāmasam udāhṛtam ||
Doch jenes Verständnis, das an einer einzigen Aufgabe haftet, als wäre sie das Ganze, ohne vernünftigen Grund, und das flach ist und der wahren Natur der Dinge widerspricht — das wird als tāmasa erklärt.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A tamasic mode of understanding is narrow and deluded: it fixates on one action as if it were everything, lacks sound reasoning, and misconstrues reality—therefore it cannot guide ethical choice or dharmic conduct.
In the Bhīṣma Parva’s teaching discourse, Arjuna is engaged in discerning the qualities of right judgment; this verse characterizes the lowest (tāmasic) kind of understanding by its irrational attachment, partial vision, and error about what is truly right.