यत्तु कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्कार्ये सक्तमहैतुकम् ।अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पं च तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ॥
yat tu kṛtsnavad ekasmin kārye saktam ahaitukam |atattvārthavad alpaṃ ca tat tāmasam udāhṛtam ||
- यत् · yat
- which
- तु · tu
- but
- कृत्स्नवत् · kṛtsnavat
- as if it were the whole
- एकस्मिन् · ekasmin
- in a single
- कार्ये · kārye
- thing, routine task
- सक्तम् · saktam
- attached, clinging
- अहैतुकम् · ahaitukam
- without reason, irrational
- अतत्त्वार्थवत् · atattvārthavat
- devoid of true meaning
- अल्पम् · alpam
- petty, trivial
- तत् · tat
- that
- तामसम् · tāmasam
- tamasic
- उदाहृतम् · udāhṛtam
- declared
“The knowledge that clings to one single routine as if it were the whole — irrational, missing the truth, and petty — is declared tamasic.”
— Original plain-language translation
Tamasic knowing mistakes a fragment for the whole: one habit, one tribe, one slogan treated as all reality. Krishna's adjectives sting — groundless, truthless, small. Fanaticism and superstition both live here.
— Reader's notes (original)