Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 28
अयुक्तः प्राकृतः स्तब्धः शठो नैष्कृतिकोऽलसः।विषादी दीर्घसूत्री च कर्ता तामस उच्यते।।
ayuktaḥ prākṛtaḥ stabdhaḥ śaṭho naiṣkṛtiko ‘lasaḥ
viṣādī dīrgha-sūtrī ca kartā tāmasa ucyate
also searched as "ayuktah prakritah stabdhah shatho naishkritiko alasah"
Translation
That doer is said to be Tamasika who is unqualified, unrefined, obstinate, depraved, dishonest, indolent, despondent, and lethargic.
Vāṇi's rendering
The doer who is scattered, crude, stubborn, deceitful, spiteful, lazy, gloomy, forever putting things off — is dark.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अयुक्तःayuktaḥ | unjoined, scattered; not gathered into what he does |
| प्राकृतःprākṛtaḥ | crude, unrefined; still raw material |
| स्तब्धःstabdhaḥ | stiff, stubborn; unbending |
| शठःśaṭhaḥ | deceitful, tricky (appears as śaṭho before the next word) |
| नैष्कृतिकःnaiṣkṛtikaḥ | spiteful, out to injure others (appears as naiṣkṛtiko) |
| अलसःalasaḥ | lazy; the initial a is swallowed and marked by the avagraha |
| विषादीviṣādī | gloomy, sunk in dejection |
| दीर्घसूत्रीdīrgha-sūtrī | one who spins a long thread — forever putting things off |
| चca | and |
| कर्ताkartā | the doer, the one acting |
| तामसःtāmasaḥ | of darkness, tāmasic (appears as tāmasa before the vowel) |
| उच्यतेucyate | is called, is said to be |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 28 mean?
Krishna finishes his portrait of the three kinds of doer with the darkest one. This person is not defined by bad results but by a way of being: unjoined, coarse, rigid, dishonest, spiteful, idle, gloomy, endlessly delaying. The work suffers because the doer is scattered before the work begins.
What is the meaning of ayuktah prakritah stabdhah shatho naishkritiko alasah?
Each word names a small refusal. Ayuktaḥ — never gathered into the task. Stabdhaḥ — stiff, uncorrectable. Naiṣkṛtikaḥ — glad when another is diminished. Alasaḥ — heavy, unwilling. Krishna is not cursing such a person; he is holding up a mirror so you can see which of these lives in you today.
Why is being sad listed as a fault of the tamasic doer?
Because viṣādī here is not honest grief. It is gloom worn as an excuse — the mood that explains, each morning, why nothing was begun. Real sorrow can act. This kind sits down and calls its sitting suffering. Krishna names it plainly so you cannot hide behind your own low mood.
How do I stop being a dirgha-sutri, one who always procrastinates?
Dīrgha-sūtrī means one who spins a very long thread — the task never cut off, always trailing. The remedy in the Gītā is never a new mood, only a smaller act. Begin the thing badly today rather than perfectly next week. Delay dissolves in doing, not in deciding to do.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Eight words, and none of them is about the work. Krishna is describing a person, not a task. Scattered attention, a coarse grain, a neck that will not bend, a habit of small deceits, pleasure in another's harm, and beneath all of it the long sigh of postponement. Notice that gloom sits here beside laziness. Despondency is not innocent in this list; it is a way of not acting while appearing to suffer. Arjuna, sunk on the chariot floor, has stood near this doer. Look at tomorrow's list of what you have moved to tomorrow again.