Shloka 35
तमोगुण-निरूपण
Analysis of Tamas and its Marks
कोन्वेतद् बुध्यते साधु कोन्वेतत् साधु पश्यति । अतत्त्वे तत्त्वदर्शी यस्तमसस्तत्त्वलक्षणम्
ko nv etad budhyate sādhu ko nv etat sādhu paśyati | atattve tattvadarśī yas tamasas tattvalakṣaṇam ||
Vāyu disse: “Quem, de fato, pode compreender isto corretamente, e quem pode percebê-lo corretamente—essa condição em que se toma o irreal por real? Essa visão invertida, que vê ‘verdade’ onde não há verdade, é o verdadeiro sinal de tamas (escuridão e ilusão).”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines tamas as a reversal of discernment: taking the unreal as real and misperceiving truth. It warns that ethical and spiritual clarity depends on correct discrimination (seeing things as they are), and that delusion itself can masquerade as ‘certainty’ or ‘insight’.
Vāyudeva is speaking, reflecting on how difficult it is for people to truly understand and perceive a subtle moral-spiritual point. He characterizes the state of confusion—where one confidently ‘sees truth’ in what is not truth—as the hallmark of tamas.