Shloka 35
यया स्वप्न भयं शोकं विषादं मदमेव च । न विमुज्चति दुर्मेधा धृति:* सा पार्थ तामसी,हे पार्थ! दुष्ट बुद्धिवाला मनुष्य जिस धारणशक्तिके द्वारा निद्रा, भय, चिन्ता और दुःखको तथा उन्मत्तताको भी नहीं छोड़ता अर्थात् धारण किये रहता है,* वह धारणशक्ति तामसी है
yayā svapna-bhayaṁ śokaṁ viṣādaṁ madam eva ca | na vimuñcati durmedhā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī ||
Arjuna said: That steadfastness by which a dull-witted person does not let go of sleep, fear, grief, dejection, and even intoxicated delusion—clinging to them instead—O Partha, is called tamasic resolve. Ethically, it portrays a will that hardens into inertia and confusion, sustaining unwholesome states rather than releasing them through discernment.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines tamasic steadfastness (dhṛti) as a stubborn holding-on to unwholesome states—sleepy inertia, fear, grief, despair, and deluded intoxication—rather than releasing them through clarity and right effort.
In the dialogue on the battlefield, the teaching classifies forms of resolve according to the three guṇas. Here, the tamasic type is described: a person’s willpower becomes misdirected, sustaining confusion and inertia instead of supporting dharmic action and inner steadiness.