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 ||
Wika ni Vāyu: “Sino nga ba ang makauunawa nito nang wasto, at sino ang makakakita nito nang wasto—ang kalagayang napagkakamalang tunay ang hindi tunay? Ang baligtad na pagtanaw na ito, ang pagtingin ng ‘katotohanan’ sa kinaroroonan ng walang katotohanan, iyan ang tunay na tanda ng tamas (dilim at pagkalito).”
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.