Devanagari
ससर्जाग्रेऽन्धतामिस्रमथ तामिस्रमादिकृत् ।
महामोहं च मोहं च तमश्चाज्ञानवृत्तय: ॥ २ ॥
Verse text
sasarjāgre ’ndha-tāmisram
atha tāmisram ādi-kṛt
mahāmohaṁ ca mohaṁ ca
tamaś cājṣāna-vṛttayaḥ
Synonyms
sasarja
—
created
;
agre
—
at first
;
andha
—
tāmisram — the sense of death
;
atha
—
then
;
tāmisram
—
anger upon frustration
;
ādi
—
kṛt — all these
;
mahā
—
moham — ownership of enjoyable objects
;
ca
—
also
;
moham
—
illusory conception
;
ca
—
also
;
tamaḥ
—
darkness in self-knowledge
;
ca
—
as well as
;
ajṣāna
—
nescience
;
vṛttayaḥ
—
engagements .
Translation
Brahmā first created the nescient engagements like self-deception, the sense of death, anger after frustration, the sense of false ownership, and the illusory bodily conception, or forgetfulness of one’s real identity.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Brahmā, the original creator, first produced the functions of ignorance: tamas, moha, mahāmoha, tāmisra and andha-tāmisra.
The functions of ignorance had already been established. At the beginning of the daily creation, they make their appearance in various forms starting with tamas, directly from the Brahmā. Tamas means ignorance of the svarūpa of the jīva. Moha means the identification of self with body etc. Mahāmoha means applying possessiveness to objects of enjoyment. Tāmisra means the appearance of anger within the mental functions when one’s enjoyment is obstructed. Andha-tāmisra means an unconsciousness state brought on by anger. This means death. Not present in the jīva, these were created by ignorance or avidyā. Viṣṇu Purāṇa says:
tamo ’viveko mohaṁ syād antaḥkaraṇa-vibhramaḥ
mahāmohastu vijṣeyo grāmya-bhoga-sukhaiṣaṇā
maraṇaṁ hy andha-tāmisraṁ tāmisraḥ krodha ucyate
avidyā paṣca-parvaiṣā prādurbhūtā mahātmanaḥ
Tamas means lack of discrimination. Moha means mistaken identify in the mind. Mahāmoha means the desire for happiness from material objects. Andha-tāmisra means death. Tāmisra means anger. These five types of ignorance made their appearance from Brahmā.
In Yogasūtras, Pataṣjali says avidyā asmitā rāgadveṣābhiniveṣāḥ: ignorance (tamas) false identity (moha), attachment (mahāmoha), repulsion (tāmisra) and fear of death (andha-tāmisra) are the five types of ignorance.
Viṣṇu-svāmī has said:
Ajṣāna-viparyāsa-bheda-bhaya-śokāḥ vastutas tv avidyāyā āvaraṇa-vikṣepāv eva dvau dharmau, tāv eva avidyāsmitā-śabdābhyāṁ ajṣāna-viparyāsa-śabdābhyāṣ cocyete
Ignorance of svarūpa, false identity, hatred, fear and lamentation are actually only two functions of avidyā, āvaraṇa and vikṣepa. Āvaraṇa is called avidyā (tamas) or ajṣāna and vikṣepa is called āsmitā (moha), or viparyāsa.
Attachment, hatred and fear of death (rāga, dveṣa, abhiniveśa), though they are qualities of the mind, are types of vikṣepa. Not being as prominent as vikṣepa, they are included in it.
Purport
Before the factual creation of the living entities in different varieties of species, the conditions under which a living being in the material world has to live were created by Brahmā. Unless a living entity forgets his real identity, it is impossible for him to live in the material conditions of life. Therefore the first condition of material existence is forgetfulness of one’s real identity. And by forgetting one’s real identity, one is sure to be afraid of death, although a pure living soul is deathless and birthless. This false identification with material nature is the cause of false ownership of things which are offered by the arrangement of superior control. All material resources are offered to the living entity for his peaceful living and for the discharge of the duties of self-realization in conditioned life. But due to false identification, the conditioned soul becomes entrapped by the sense of false ownership of the property of the Supreme Lord. It is evident from this verse that Brahmā himself is a creation of the Supreme Lord, and the five kinds of nescience which condition the living entities in material existence are creations of Brahmā. It is simply ludicrous to think the living entity to be equal with the Supreme Being when one can understand that the conditioned souls are under the influence of Brahmā’s magic wand. Pataṣjali also accepts that there are five kinds of nescience, as mentioned herein.