अधर्मं धर्ममिति या मन्यते तमसावृता ।सर्वार्थान्विपरीतांश्च बुद्धिः सा पार्थ तामसी ॥
adharmaṃ dharmam iti yā manyate tamasāvṛtā |sarvārthān viparītāṃś ca buddhiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī ||
- अधर्मम् · adharmam
- wrong
- धर्मम् · dharmam
- as right
- इति · iti
- thus
- या · yā
- which
- मन्यते · manyate
- holds, believes
- तमसावृता · tamasāvṛtā
- shrouded in darkness
- सर्वार्थान् · sarvārthān
- all things
- विपरीतान् · viparītān
- contrary, upside-down
- बुद्धिः · buddhiḥ
- understanding
- पार्थ · pārtha
- O Partha
- तामसी · tāmasī
- tamasic
“Shrouded in darkness, the understanding that takes wrong for right and sees all things upside-down — that, O Partha, is tamasic.”
— Original plain-language translation
Tamasic intellect inverts the moral compass entirely: cruelty called justice, exploitation called virtue. Darkness here is active distortion, not mere absence of light. Chapters 16.4–16.18 described this mindset in the demoniac nature; here it is classified as failed discernment.
— Reader's notes (original)