Bg. 18.25 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनपेक्ष्य च पौरुषम् । मोहादारभ्यते कर्म यत्तत्तामसमुच्यते ॥ २५ ॥

Verse text

anubandhaṁ kṣayaṁ hiṁsām anapekṣya ca pauruṣam mohād ārabhyate karma yat tat tāmasam ucyate

Synonyms

anubandham — of future bondage ; kṣayam — destruction ; hiṁsām — and distress to others ; anapekṣya — without considering the consequences ; ca — also ; pauruṣam — self-sanctioned ; mohāt — by illusion ; ārabhyate — is begun ; karma — work ; yat — which ; tat — that ; tāmasam — in the mode of ignorance ; ucyate — is said to be.

Translation

That action performed in illusion, in disregard of scriptural injunctions, and without concern for future bondage or for violence or distress caused to others is said to be in the mode of ignorance.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

25. That work leading to bondage, which is destructive, harmful to the self, and performed without prior consideration, is called tamasic work.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

25. That work leading to bondage, which is destructive, harmful to other, performed by force and without consideration of anyone, out of illusion, is called tamasic work.

Purport

One has to give account of one’s actions to the state or to the agents of the Supreme Lord called the Yamadūtas. Irresponsible work is destructive because it destroys the regulative principles of scriptural injunction. It is often based on violence and is distressing to other living entities. Such irresponsible work is carried out in the light of one’s personal experience. This is called illusion. And all such illusory work is a product of the mode of ignorance.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

That work which leads to later bondage by the servants of Yama, by a king or by thieves (anubandham), which destroys dharma, knowledge and other good qualities (kṣayam), which destroys oneself (hiṁsām), which is performed without prior consideration (anapekṣya), which is performed only by materialistic persons (pauruṣam), commenced out of ignorance (mohāt), is called tamasic work.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

That action which later (anu) causes bondage by the king or Yamarāja, which destroys such things as dharma, that afflicts other living entities, which is done forcibly (pauruṣam), that is, without consideration of anyone, and out of illusion, is called action in the mode of ignorance.