Shloka 26
Śuka–Janaka Saṃvāda: Āśrama-krama, Jñāna-vijñāna, and the Marks of Liberation (शुक-जनक संवादः)
तमसो लक्षणानीह भक्षणाद्यभिरोचनम् | भोजनानामपर्याप्तिस्तथा पेयेष्वतृप्तता
tamaso lakṣaṇānīha bhakṣaṇādy-abhirocanam | bhojanānām aparyāptis tathā peyeṣv atṛptatā ||
耶若那伐迦说道：“此处便是惰暗（tamas）的征相：贪恋饮食等欲；总觉食物永不为足；即便饮品亦不能令其满足。此等惰暗之性，表现为迷妄与内在无光（无明），沉入‘昏暗’（tāmisra，盲嗔）与‘极昏暗’（andhatāmisra，终于死亡之黑暗）。其相状为：厌弃清净善食；无论得多少皆不知足；所饮不能解渴；喜着臭秽之衣；行止不正；取用污秽之床榻与坐具；昼寝；沉溺争辩与放逸；因无明而迷信舞蹈、歌唱与诸般乐器；并对种种正法之道怀嗔憎。”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines tamas by its ethical and psychological symptoms: compulsive craving, chronic dissatisfaction, and ignorance that manifests as delusion, rage (tāmisra), and a deathward darkness (andhatāmisra). It warns that tamas is recognized not by theory but by conduct—heedlessness, impurity, and hostility toward dharma.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Yājñavalkya is teaching about the guṇas. Here he enumerates observable signs of tamas, linking inner darkness to outward habits and moral decline.