Chapter 18, Verse 39
यदग्रे चानुबन्धे च सुखं मोहनमात्मनः | निद्रालस्यप्रमादोत्थं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ||१८-३९||
yadagre cānubandhe ca sukhaṃ mohanamātmanaḥ . nidrālasyapramādotthaṃ tattāmasamudāhṛtam ||18-39||
Meaning
18.39 That happiness which at first as well as in the seel deludes the self, and which arises from sleep, indolence and heedlessness that is declared to be Tamasic.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Tamasic happiness deludes the self both at the start and all the way through. Unlike sattvic joy (bitter then sweet) or rajasic joy (sweet then bitter), this so-called happiness is delusion from beginning to end, springing from nidra (sleep), alasya (laziness), and pramada (heedless negligence).
This is the false contentment of inertia — the dull satisfaction of oversleeping, idleness, intoxication, and willful obliviousness. It feels like ease but is really a numbing of awareness, a happiness that requires switching off rather than waking up. Krishna names it plainly so the seeker is not fooled: comfort that comes from dullness and avoidance is not joy at all but a deeper sinking into darkness.
💡 Key Takeaway
Comfort drawn from sleep, laziness, and heedlessness only deludes you from start to finish.
Related Verses
नियतस्य तु संन्यासः कर्मणो नोपपद्यते | मोहात्तस्य परित्यागस्तामसः परिकीर्तितः ||१८-७||
niyatasya tu saṃnyāsaḥ karmaṇo nopapadyate . mohāttasya parityāgastāmasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ ||18-7||
18.7 Verily the renunciation of obligatory action is not proper; the abandonment of the same from delusion is declared to be Tamasic.
यत्तु कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्कार्ये सक्तमहैतुकम् | अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पं च तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ||१८-२२||
yattu kṛtsnavadekasminkārye saktamahaitukam . atattvārthavadalpaṃ ca tattāmasamudāhṛtam ||18-22||
18.22 But that which clings to one single effect as if it were the whole, without reason, without foundation in Truth, and trivial that is declared to be Tamasic.
अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनपेक्ष्य च पौरुषम् | मोहादारभ्यते कर्म यत्तत्तामसमुच्यते ||१८-२५||
anubandhaṃ kṣayaṃ hiṃsāmanapekṣya ca pauruṣam . mohādārabhyate karma yattattāmasamucyate ||18-25||
18.25 That action which is undertaken from delusion, without a regard for the conseences, loss, injury and (one's own) ability that is declared to be Tamasic (dark).