Bhagavad Gita BG 18.32
Chapter 18, Verse 32 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
अधर्मं धर्ममिति या मन्यते तमसावृता । सर्वार्थान्विपरीतांश्च बुद्धिः सा पार्थ तामसी ॥
adharmam dharmam iti ya manyate tamasavrtA sarva-arthan viparitansh ca buddhih sa partha tamasi
Meaning
O Partha, the buddhi which, covered by darkness (tamasavrtA), thinks adharma is dharma — and sees all things in a perverted way (sarva-arthan viparitatm) — that buddhi is tamasic.
Understanding
Tamasic buddhi represents the complete inversion of discriminative capacity. TamasavrtA (covered by tamas — the faculty of discernment is obscured by the darkness of tamas). Adharmam dharmam iti manyate (thinks adharma IS dharma): not merely applying dharma incorrectly (rajasic) but confusing the categories themselves at the root — calling what is unrighteous 'righteous.' Sarva-arthan viparitatm (sees all purposes/meanings in a perverted way): not just in the ethical domain but across all purposes and meanings. The tamasic buddhi is covered — it cannot see because tamas has wrapped it in obscurity. This is not a failure of application (rajasic) but a failure of the faculty itself. The tamasic person is not self-aware enough to know they are wrong; they genuinely cannot see the difference. This makes tamasic buddhi the most dangerous and most requiring of the illuminating power of jnana.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| मन्यते | manyate | thinks, believes, holds as true |
| तमसावृता | tamasavrtA | covered/enveloped by tamas (tamasa = by darkness, avrtA = covered, wrapped) |
| सर्वार्थान् | sarva-arthan | all purposes, all meanings, all objects (sarva = all, artha = purpose/meaning/thing) |
| विपरीतान् | viparitansh | in a perverted/inverted way, topsy-turvy (vi = away, parita = around/over) |
| अधर्मम् | adharmam | irreligion |
| धर्मम् | dharmam iti | as religion |
| या | yā | which |
| तमसा | tamasā āvṛtā | covered by ignorance |
| सर्व-अर्थान् | sarva-arthān | all purposes |
| विपरीतान् | viparītān ca | and perverted |
| बुद्धिः | buddhiḥ | intelligence |
| सा | sā | that |
| पार्थ | pārtha | O Arjuna |
| तामसी | tāmasī | in ignorance |