Shloka 27
Śuka–Janaka Saṃvāda: Āśrama-krama, Jñāna-vijñāna, and the Marks of Liberation (शुक-जनक संवादः)
गन्धवासो विहारेषु शयनेष्वासनेषु च । दिवास्वप्नेडतिवादे च प्रमादेषु च वै रति:
gandhavāso vihāreṣu śayaneṣv āsaneṣu ca | divāsvapne ’tivāde ca pramādeṣu ca vai ratiḥ ||
耶若那伐迦说道：“喜好香氛与感官逸乐，耽于轻佻游荡，沉溺奢软床座；昼间嗜睡；又过分执著于争辩与放逸疏忽——此皆为惰暗之性（tamas-guṇa）的征相。具此心性者，迷妄与黑暗占上风，引人趋向懒惰、紊乱与自毁之习，而非清明、节制与合乎正法的行持。”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies behavioral indicators of tamas (inertia/darkness): sensual indulgence, excessive comfort-seeking, daytime sleep, contentious speech, and heedlessness. It warns that such habits cloud discernment and weaken dharmic self-governance.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic discourse, Yājñavalkya is instructing about the guṇas by listing observable traits. Here he describes tamas through everyday conduct—how one’s pleasures, speech, and routines reveal an inner quality of darkness and negligence.