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 ||
वायु ने कहा— जो किया नहीं, उसका अभिमान करना; अज्ञान में रहते हुए अपने को ज्ञानी मानना; मैत्री का अभाव; विकृत और दूषित स्वभाव; श्रद्धा का नाश; और हठीली, मोहग्रस्त बुद्धि— ये अंतःकरण के पतन और धर्म-भ्रंश के चिह्न हैं।
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.