Shloka 15
तमोगुण-निरूपण
Analysis of Tamas and its Marks
अनार्जवमसंज्ञत्वं कर्म पापमचेतना । गुरुत्वं सन्नभावत्वमवशित्वमवाग्गति:
anārjavam asaṃjñatvaṃ karma pāpam acetanā | gurutvaṃ sannabhāvatvam avaśitvam avāggatiḥ ||
风神婆由说道：“心性乖曲、失却觉知、由昏愚而生的罪业、灵性沉重、执著于‘实有’而因此受缚之态、无助无力，以及趋向下堕的道路——这些都是道德衰败的征象，足以将众生从高贵之道上拖离。”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse lists inner and behavioral traits—dishonesty, heedlessness, sinful action, dullness, inertia, helplessness, and a downward trajectory—as interconnected causes and symptoms of ethical and spiritual degeneration. It warns that when awareness and self-mastery weaken, actions become pāpa and the person’s course tends toward decline.
Vāyudeva is speaking in a didactic mode, enumerating qualities that characterize a fall from noble (ārya) conduct. Rather than describing an external event, the passage functions as moral instruction within the Ashvamedhika Parva’s broader reflective discourse.