A core teaching · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“Clinging to fear and sorrow is not strength; it is tamasic inertia.”
The dull-minded one does not let go of sleep, fear, grief, sorrow, and pride. That steadfastness is tamasic, Arjuna.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyby which · sleep · fear · grief · sorrow · pride · even · and · does not let go · the dull-minded one · steadfastness · that · Arjuna · tamasic
Some people hold on to sleepiness, fear, grief, despair, and pride instead of releasing them. That kind of stubbornness is dull and tamasic.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Moksha Sanyasa Yoga" (Liberation through Renunciation).
Verse 35 sits in Chapter 18 of the Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sanyasa Yoga, "Liberation through Renunciation". The chapter has 78 verses in total.
Months after losing his business, a man still refuses to leave the house, rehearsing the same grievance at every meal. Krishna counts that as tamasic firmness: holding on to fear, grief and pride and calling it resolve.
Did you like this verse?
Tamasic dhriti is the stubborn grip a dull mind keeps on sleep, fear, grief, despair and pride.
What this verse means
Some people hold on to sleepiness, fear, grief, despair, and pride instead of releasing them. That kind of stubbornness is dull and tamasic.
Context & commentary
Krishna is classifying the kinds of resolve that drive action. After describing sattvic and rajasic steadfastness, he names the lowest form: the mind that cannot release fear, grief, sorrow, sleep, or pride.
What it looks like today
Months after losing his business, a man still refuses to leave the house, rehearsing the same grievance at every meal. Krishna counts that as tamasic firmness: holding on to fear, grief and pride and calling it resolve.
“Not every kind of firmness is strength; some of it is just clinging to what keeps you heavy.”
Explore related themes: gunas (47 verses), grief (10 verses)