A core teaching · reflective in mood · a little context helps
“Pleasure that dulls you is not relief; it is confusion in disguise.”
That pleasure, born of sleep, laziness, and negligence, deludes the self at the beginning and at the end; it is called tamasic.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallywhich · at first · and · in the end · and · pleasure · deluding · of the self · born of sleep, laziness, and negligence · that · tamasic · is called
Pleasure that comes from sleep, laziness, and carelessness feels good only briefly. It dulls the mind and leaves a person more confused.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Moksha Sanyasa Yoga" (Liberation through Renunciation).
Verse 39 sits in Chapter 18 of the Bhagavad Gita — Moksha Sanyasa Yoga, "Liberation through Renunciation". The chapter has 78 verses in total.
On a holiday, a man sleeps till noon, naps again after lunch and lets the whole day go by. Krishna places that comfort in tamas: it dulls the mind at the start and leaves it duller at the end.
Did you like this verse?
Tamasic pleasure, from sleep, sloth and carelessness, deludes the self from start to finish, Krishna says.
What this verse means
Pleasure that comes from sleep, laziness, and carelessness feels good only briefly. It dulls the mind and leaves a person more confused.
Context & commentary
Krishna finishes classifying the three kinds of pleasure. After describing higher and mixed forms, Krishna names the lowest one: the comfort that comes from sleep, laziness, and negligence, and leaves the mind dulled.
What it looks like today
On a holiday, a man sleeps till noon, naps again after lunch and lets the whole day go by. Krishna places that comfort in tamas: it dulls the mind at the start and leaves it duller at the end.
“Not every comfort restores you. Some pleasures quietly drain your clarity.”
Explore related themes: gunas (47 verses)