Shloka 14

तमोगुण-निरूपण

Analysis of Tamas and its Marks

Devanagari script

अकृते कृतमानित्वमज्ञाने ज्ञानमानिता । अमैत्री विकृताभावो हा श्रद्धा मूढठभावना

Transliteration

akṛte kṛtamānitvam ajñāne jñānamānitā | amaitrī vikṛtābhāvo hā śraddhā mūḍhaṭhabhāvanā ||

Translation

Thần Vāyu nói: “Tự hào về những việc mình chưa hề làm; tưởng mình trí tuệ khi vẫn vô minh; thiếu lòng thân thiện; tâm tính méo mó, lệch lạc; đánh mất niềm tin; và lối nghĩ cố chấp, mê muội—đó là những dấu hiệu của sự bại hoại nội tâm và suy đồi đạo hạnh.”

Word by Word

• अकृते: in what is not done / in the undone
• अकृते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अकृत (कृ + क्त, नञ्-पूर्वक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• कृतमानित्वम्: pride of having done (it)
• कृतमानित्वम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृतमानित्व (कृत + मानित्व)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अज्ञाने: in ignorance
• अज्ञाने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अज्ञान (नञ् + ज्ञान)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• ज्ञानमानिता: self-conceit of knowledge / being regarded (by oneself) as knowledgeable
• ज्ञानमानिता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञानमानिता (ज्ञान + मानिता)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• अमैत्री: unfriendliness
• अमैत्री: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमैत्री (नञ् + मैत्री)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• विकृताभावः: perverted disposition / distorted state of being
• विकृताभावः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विकृताभाव (विकृत + अभाव)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हा: alas! / ah!
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हा

• श्रद्धा: faith
• श्रद्धा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रद्धा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• मूढभावना: deluded thinking / foolish attitude
• मूढभावना: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूढभावना (मूढ + भावना)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वायुदेव (Vāyudeva)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse lists ethical failings that signal moral decline: boasting of unperformed deeds, claiming knowledge while ignorant, lacking goodwill toward others, developing a distorted temperament, losing śraddhā (faith in dharma), and clinging stubbornly to deluded notions. Together they warn against self-deception and the erosion of character.

What is happening in the narrative?

In this passage of the Aśvamedhika Parva, Vāyudeva speaks as a moral instructor, enumerating inner vices and psychological traits that lead a person away from dharma. The focus is didactic—diagnosing corrupt tendencies rather than describing an external action.