Bhagavad Gita BG 17.19
Chapter 17, Verse 19 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
मूढग्राहेणात्मनो यत् पीडया क्रियते तपः । परस्योत्सादनार्थं वा तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ॥
mudha-grahena atmano yat pidaya kriyate tapah parasyotsadanartham va tat tamasam udahrtam
Meaning
Austerity performed with deluded notions (mudha-graha), with self-torture (atmanah pidaya), or for the purpose of destroying another — is declared to be tamasic.
Understanding
Tamasic tapas is the most clearly destructive form. Mudha-graha (deluded grasping/notion): the tamasic ascetic holds onto wrong ideas about what constitutes austerity — suffering for its own sake, or practices that harm without any genuine purificatory intent. Atmanah pidaya (causing pain to oneself — self-torture rather than self-discipline). The crucial distinction between tapas and self-torture: tapas (from the root 'tap' — to heat) purifies like fire; self-torture merely damages. Parasyotsadanartham (for the purpose of causing ruin/destruction to another): this is the darkest form — using ascetic practice as a weapon to harm. In traditional context, certain extreme tapas were used to generate power to harm enemies. This is the anti-thesis of the sattvic tapas which includes ahimsa (non-violence).
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| मूढग्राहेण | mudha-grahena | with deluded grasping, under the grip of delusion (mudha = deluded, graha = grip/grasping) |
| आत्मनः | atmanah | of the self, to oneself |
| पीडया | pidaya | with pain/suffering, by torture, causing distress |
| परस्योत्सादनार्थम् | parasyotsadanartham | for the purpose of destroying/ruining another (para = other, utsadana = destruction/ruin) |
| उदाहृतम् | udahrtam | is declared, is stated as an example of |
| मूढ-ग्राहेण | mūḍha-grāheṇa | with foolish obstinacy |
| आत्मनः | ātmanaḥ | of oneself |
| यत् | yat | which |
| पीडया | pīḍayā | with torture, with pain |
| क्रियते | kriyate | is performed |
| तपः | tapaḥ | austerity |
| परस्य | parasya | of another |
| उत्सादन-अर्थम् | utsādana-artham | for destroying |
| वा | vā | or |
| तत् | tat | that |
| तामसम् | tāmasam | in ignorance |
| उदाहृतम् | udāhṛtam | is declared |