Shloka 19
Abhimanyu’s Assault on Bhīṣma’s Screen; Banner-Felling and Reinforcements (सौभद्र-भीष्म-समरः)
सम्बन्ध-- अब तामस तपके लक्षण बतलाते हैं. जो कि सर्वथा त्याज्य हैं-- मूठढग्राहेणात्मनोरं यत् पीडया क्रियते तप: । परस्योत्सादनार्थ वा तत् तामसमुदाह्तम्
mūḍhagrāheṇātmano yat pīḍayā kriyate tapaḥ | parasyotsādanārthaṃ vā tat tāmasam udāhṛtam ||
Arjuna said: Austerity that is performed with foolish obstinacy—by tormenting one’s own body—or that is undertaken with the aim of harming or destroying another, is declared to be austerity in the mode of darkness (tāmasika).
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity is ethically evaluated by intention and method: practices driven by deluded stubbornness that injure oneself, or disciplines aimed at harming others, are classified as tāmasika (dark/ignorant) and are to be rejected.
In the Bhīṣma Parva dialogue (Bhagavad Gītā context), the speaker defines the characteristics of tāmasika tapas, contrasting it with higher forms of discipline by marking self-torment and malicious intent as signs of tamas.