Dullness and avoidance are signs of tamas.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
अप्रकाशोऽप्रवृत्तिश्च प्रमादो मोह एव च |तमस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे कुरुनन्दन ||१४-१३||
aprakāśo.apravṛttiśca pramādo moha eva ca . tamasyetāni jāyante vivṛddhe kurunandana ||14-13||
Use this verse when avoidance or dullness takes over.
Meaning
O delight of the Kurus, when tamas increases, darkness, inactivity, negligence, and delusion arise.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Tamas is recognized by dullness, avoidance, carelessness, and confusion.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Tamas does not always look dramatic. It often appears as procrastination, mental fog, denial, oversleeping, avoidance, and careless choices.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna gives the signs of the third guṇa, completing his diagnostic guide. When tamas dominates, four shadows fall: aprakāśa (an absence of light, a mental dimness in which nothing is clearly seen), apravṛtti (inertness, an inability or unwillingness to act), pramāda (heedless forgetting of what one ought to do), and moha (delusion, confusion about right and wrong).
These are states everyone knows — the grey morning when nothing seems worth doing, the fog in which good resolutions are forgotten, the confusion that mistakes the harmful for the harmless. Krishna's gift here is simply naming them, for tamas thrives on going unrecognised. The seeker who can say, 'this dullness and confusion is tamas rising, not the truth of who I am,' has already begun to lift it.
Stirring even a little activity (rajas) or kindling a little clarity (sattva) is the practical way out of the dark.
In daily life
Use small movement to break tamasic inertia.
A person stuck in endless scrolling can stand up, drink water, and chant one name of Krishna.
Try this today
Take one tiny action toward clarity now.
I move from dullness toward light.Reflect
Where is tamas making me avoid action?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘अप्रवृत्तिः च’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on inertia, in other chapters
- Verse 17.10What is stale, lifeless, and impure dulls the spirit — be mindful of feeding yourself things that deaden rather than awaken you.
- Verse 18.28Laziness, despondency, and endless procrastination are the marks of a doer sunk in inertia and darkness.
- Verse 7.13We are mesmerised by life's changing qualities and miss the changeless Divine behind them — wake from the trance and look deeper.
- Verse 3.36 · ArjunaWe often act against our own better judgment as if forced — recognizing this inner compulsion honestly is the first step to mastering it.
Swipe left for 14.14 · Sattva supports upward spiritual movement.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 14.13
Who says Bhagavad Gita 14.13, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 14.13, in Chapter 14, Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga (Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 14.13 mean?
O delight of the Kurus, when tamas increases, darkness, inactivity, negligence, and delusion arise. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 14.13 for daily life?
Use small movement to break tamasic inertia. A person stuck in endless scrolling can stand up, drink water, and chant one name of Krishna.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 14.13 mean?
अप्रकाशः — absence of light, darkness; अप्रवृत्तिः च — and inertness, non-activity; प्रमादः — heedlessness, negligence; मोहः एव च — and delusion; तमसि विवृद्धे — when tamas is predominant.
Where does verse 14.13 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 13 of 27 in Chapter 14, Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 14.14.