Shloka 25
कामद्रुम-रूपकः तथा शरीर-पुर-रूपकः
The Desire-Tree and the Body-as-City Metaphors
तथा मोह: प्रमादश्न निद्रा तन्द्रा प्रबोधिता । कथंचिदभिवर्तन्ते विज्ञेयास्तामसा गुणा:,इसी प्रकार मोह, प्रमाद, निद्रा, तन्द्रा और अज्ञान जिस किसी कारणसे हो जाये, उन्हे तमोगुणका कार्य जानना चाहिये
tathā mohaḥ pramādaś ca nidrā tandrā prabodhitā | kathaṃcid abhivartante vijñeyās tāmasā guṇāḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “Likewise, delusion, heedlessness, sleep, drowsiness, and the stupefaction that passes for ‘awakening’—when these arise for whatever reason—should be recognized as manifestations of the tamasic quality.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
States like delusion, negligence, sleepiness, and mental dullness—however they arise—should be identified as tamasic influences, because they obscure discrimination and undermine ethical, purposeful action.
In the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa is classifying mental states according to the guṇas, instructing the listener to recognize tamas by its symptoms of confusion and inertia.