Shloka

अयुक्तः प्राकृतः स्तब्धः शठो नैष्कृतिकोऽलसः |
विषादी दीर्घसूत्री च कर्ता तामस उच्यते ||१८-२८||

Transliteration

ayuktaḥ prākṛtaḥ stabdhaḥ śaṭho naiṣkṛtiko.alasaḥ .
viṣādī dīrghasūtrī ca kartā tāmasa ucyate ||18-28||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

18.28. The agent, who does not exert, is vulgar, obstinate and deceitful; who is a man of wickedness and is lazy, sorrowful, and procrastinating - that agent is said to be of the Tamas (Strand).

Shri Purohit Swami

18.28 While he whose purpose is infirm, who is low-minded, stubborn, dishonest, malicious, indolent, despondent, procrastinating - he may be assumed to be in Darkness.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

18.26-28 Muktasangah etc. upto Tamasa ucyate. He who does not make speech of egoism : He who does not claim ‘I am the agent’ i.e., he who is different from the one who claims so by natural inclination, or claims as such with an intention that ‘I should do so’, or claims so in an efficient manner. This nini (suffix employed in anahamvadi) does not prohibit for a Yogin, the speech ‘I do’ under the influence of the cover of the mundane life. Who is overpowered by joy and grief : i.e., at the time of success and failure [respectively]. Wickedness : cruelty.

Sri Ramanuja

18.28 ‘Ayukta’ is the doer who is unalified for acts enjoined by the Sastras; the meaning is that he is engaged in perverse acts; who is ‘unrefined’, means one uninstructed; who is ‘stubborn’, means one who is not disposed to act; who is ‘depraved’ means one who has the taste for black magic etc; who is dishonest is one who is treacherous; who is ‘indolent’ is one who is not inclined to carry out actions undertaken; who is ‘despondent’ is one given to excessive despondency; and one who is ‘dilatory’, is a person who, while engaged in black magic, etc., pays malevolent attention to produce long-standing evil to others - such a doer is declared to be Tamasika.

Thus, has been told the threefold division in terms of the Gunas of the knowledge about the work that ought to be performed, and about the agent of work. Now, Sri Krsna describe s the threefold division of Buddhi and Dhrti (fortitude) on the basis of Gunas. These faculties give the determinate knowledge of all realities in existence and of all ends of human life (Purusarthas).

Sri Shankaracharya

18.28 The agent who is ayuktah, unsteady; prakrtah, naive, of very unrefined intelligence, like a child; stabdhah, unbending like a staff-he does not bend down to anyone; sathah, deceitful, cunning, hiding his own powers; naiskrtikah, wicked, given to destroying the livelihood of others; alasah, lazy, not inclined even to his own duties; visadi, morose, ever in a mood of dejection; and dirghasutri, procrastinating, postponing duties for long, [Ast. adds here, ‘sarvada mandasvabhavah, always slow by nature’.-Tr.] not accomplishing even in a month what is to be done today or tomorrow;-one who is such, he ucyate, is said to be; tamasah, possessed of tamas.

Swami Adidevananda

18.28 That doer is said to be Tamasika who is unalified, unrefined, stubborn, depraved, dishonest, indolent, despondent and dilatory.

Swami Gambirananda

18.28 The agent who is unsteady, naive, unbending, deceitful, wicked, [A variant reading is naikrtikah.-Tr.] lazy, morose and procrastinating is said to be possessed of tamas.

Swami Sivananda

18.28 Unsteady, vulgar, unbending, cheating, malicious, lazy, desponding and procrastinating such an agent is called Tamasic.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

18.28 अयुक्तः unsteady? प्राकृतः vulgar? स्तब्धः unbending? शठः cheating? नैष्कृतिकः malicious? अलसः lazy? विषादी desponding? दीर्घसूत्री procrastinating? च and? कर्ता agent? तामसः Tamasic (dark)? उच्यते is said.Commentary Owing to his vulgar nature he is not able to discriminate between proper and improper actions. His heart is filled with vanity. He will never prostrate himself before the deity or a sage. He is very stiff and unbending in his demeanour. He is the very embodiment of deceit? the abode of the passion for gambling and all such vices. He is ever ready to do evil actions. When an opportunity for his doing good occurs? he is utterly slothful and inactive? but he is very alert in doing evil.Prakritah Vulgar Quite uncultured in intellect one who is childish.Stabdhah Unbending (like a stick)? not bowing down to anybody.Shathah Cheating concealing his real nature.Naishkritikah Creating arrels and disputes among the people.Alasah Lazy Not doing even that which ought to be done.Dirghasutri Postponing duties too long always slothful not performing even in a month what ought to be done today or tomorrow.