Shloka 25
Śuka–Janaka Saṃvāda: Āśrama-krama, Jñāna-vijñāna, and the Marks of Liberation (शुक-जनक संवादः)
मोहो<5प्रकाशस्तामिस्रमन्धतामिस्रसंज्ञितम् । मरणं चान्धतामिस्रं तामिस््र क्रोध उच्यते
yājñavalkya uvāca | moho 'prakāśas tāmisram andhatāmisra-saṃjñitam | maraṇaṃ cāndhatāmisraṃ tāmisraṃ krodha ucyate ||
Wika ni Yājñavalkya: “Ang pagkalito at pagkalugmok (moha) ay ang kalagayang tinatawag na ‘kawalan ng liwanag’ (kamangmangan), na nakikilala bilang tāmisra at andhatāmisra. Ang andhatāmisra ay itinuturing na kamatayan, samantalang ang tāmisra ay sinasabing galit. Sa pananaw ng asal at dharma, ito ang mga tanda ng katangiang tamas: kapag naliliman ang isip, nahuhulog ito sa dilim—ang galit ang nagtutulak na lumubog pa roon, at ang sukdulan ng gayong pagdilim ay isang pagkapariwara na wari’y kamatayan ng pag-unawa at ng buhay.”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies forms of inner darkness (tamas) and links them to ethical failure: ignorance/delusion is ‘non-illumination’; anger is a key expression of that darkness (tāmisra); and the most extreme obscuration is associated with death (andhatāmisra). The practical implication is that mastering anger and dispelling ignorance are essential for dharmic living.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Yājñavalkya is teaching about the guṇas (especially tamas) by defining technical terms—tāmisra and andhatāmisra—and mapping them to recognizable human conditions (anger and death), as part of a broader ethical-psychological exposition.