Shloka 31

तमोगुण-निरूपण

Analysis of Tamas and its Marks

Devanagari script

शूद्रयोनिमतिक्रम्य ये चान्ये तामसा गुणा: । स्रोतोमध्ये समागम्य वर्तन्ते तामसे गुणे,कोई शूद्रयोनिसे आगे बढ़कर भी तामस गुणोंसे युक्त हो जाते हैं और उसके प्रवाहमें पड़कर तमोगुणमें ही प्रवृत्त रहते हैं

Transliteration

śūdrayonim atikramya ye cānye tāmasā guṇāḥ | srotomadhye samāgamya vartante tāmase guṇe ||

Translation

Vāyu bersabda: “Bahkan mereka yang telah melampaui kelahiran sebagai śūdra, bila dikuasai guṇa tamas—ketika berbaur di tengah arus—tetap bergerak dan bertindak di bawah kendali sifat tamas.”

Word by Word

शूद्रयोनिम्the Śūdra-womb/birth (Śūdra origin)

अतिक्रम्यhaving overstepped/transcended

येwho (those who)

चand

अन्येothers

तामसाःtamasic, of darkness

गुणाःqualities, traits

स्रोतःof the stream/current

मध्येin the middle

समागम्यhaving come together/entered

वर्तन्तेthey remain/continue, they behave

तामसेin tamasic (state)

गुणेin the quality/guṇa

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu (Vāyudeva)

śūdra (as a social category)

tamas (tamoguṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Inner disposition and company shape conduct more decisively than external status. Even if one ‘crosses beyond’ a low station, tamasic tendencies—especially reinforced by association—can keep a person acting in ignorance, inertia, and ethically unrefined ways.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu is instructing the listener about the operation of the guṇas. He explains how people, when drawn into a prevailing ‘current’ of tamas (a social or psychological stream), continue to function under tamasic influence despite apparent advancement.