Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 35
यया स्वप्नं भयं शोकं विषादं मदमेव च।न विमुञ्चति दुर्मेधा धृतिः सा पार्थ तामसी।।
yayā svapnaṁ bhayaṁ śokaṁ viṣādaṁ madam eva ca
na vimuñcati durmedhā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī
also searched as "yaya svapnam bhayam shokam vishadam madam eva cha"
Translation
That Dhrti, by which a foolish person does not give up sleep, fear, grief, depression, and passion, O Arjuna, is of the nature of Tamas.
Vāṇi's rendering
And the resolve by which a fool will not let go of sleep, fear, grief, despair, and vanity — is dark.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ययाyayā | by which |
| स्वप्नम्svapnaṁ | sleep, drowsiness |
| भयम्bhayaṁ | fear |
| शोकम्śokaṁ | grief |
| विषादम्viṣādaṁ | despair, sinking of heart |
| मदम्madam | vanity, self-intoxication |
| एवeva | indeed (sandhi: madam + eva) |
| चca | and |
| नna | not |
| विमुञ्चतिvimuñcati | lets go of, releases |
| दुर्मेधाःdurmedhā | the dull-minded one |
| धृतिःdhṛtiḥ | resolve, holding power |
| साsā | that |
| पार्थpārtha | Arjuna, son of Pṛthā |
| तामसीtāmasī | dark, of the nature of tamas |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 35 mean?
Krishna finishes his account of resolve with its darkest kind. Here the holding power is intact but pointed wrongly: it clamps onto sleep, fear, grief, despair and conceit and refuses to release them. The fault is not weakness. It is a strong grip closed around what should have been let go.
What does yaya svapnam bhayam shokam vishadam mean?
It names five things a dark resolve will not surrender — drowsiness, fear, grief, despair, and vanity. Krishna lists them together because they share a habit: each one feels like something you are keeping rather than something keeping you. Tamasic dhṛti is loyalty to exactly these.
Why is holding on called dark instead of just weak?
Because effort is present. The dull-minded one is not failing to try; he is trying hard, in the wrong direction. Tamas here is not collapse but stubbornness — a mind that has decided its heaviness is the truth and defends it. That takes strength, and Krishna says so plainly.
How do I know if my determination has turned tamasic?
Look at what it protects. Sāttvic dhṛti steadies the mind and breath and senses; this one steadies your grievance. If your firmness always ends with you keeping the same fear, the same sorrow, the same good opinion of yourself, the grip has closed on the wrong thing.
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Commentary
Notice what is being named here and what is not. Dhṛti is holding power — and this one holds too. It grips sleep, fear, grief, despair, and its own self-importance, and will not open its hand. Krishna calls the holder durmedhā, dull of mind, because the strength is real and the aim is wrong. Arjuna's despair had that shape; he could have nursed it for years and called it conscience. Some of what you carry, you carry by choice, and you have named the choosing loyalty. Ask what your grip would have to release for the day to change.