Bhagavad Gita 18.25 Meaning: Anubandham kshayam

Bhagavad Gita 18.25

अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनपेक्ष्य च पौरुषम् ।मोहादारभ्यते कर्म यत्तत्तामसमुच्यते ॥

Anubandham kshayam hinsamanapekshya cha paurushamMohadarabhyate karma yattattamasamuchyate

anubandhaṃ kṣayaṃ hiṃsāmanapekṣya ca pauruṣam |mohādārabhyate karma yattattāmasamucyate ||

How to read these English letters (IAST)

Our explanation Krishna says that an action begun out of confusion, without thinking of what follows from it, of loss, of harm to others, or of one's own strength, is called action of the nature of tamas.

हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि जो कर्म मोह के कारण आरंभ किया जाता है, उसके परिणाम, हानि, दूसरों की हिंसा और अपने सामर्थ्य का विचार किए बिना, वह तामस कहलाता है।

Word by word

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Word by word

अनुबन्धम् anubandham · the consequence (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: anu-bandha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 36, col. 2 “sequence, consequence, result”
क्षयम् kṣayam · loss (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: 3. kṣaya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 328, col. 1 “loss, waste, wane, diminution, destruction, decay”
हिंसाम् hiṃsām · harm (noun (feminine), accusative singular) Dictionary: hiṃsā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1297, col. 3 “injury, harm (to life or property), hurt, mischief, wrong”
अनपेक्ष्य anapekṣya · without regard to (absolutive (having done)) Dictionary: an-apekṣya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 25, col. 3 “disregarding, irrespective of”
च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
पौरुषम् pauruṣam · one's own strength (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. pauruṣa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 651, col. 2 “manliness, manly strength or courage or deed, valour, heroism”
मोहात् mohāt · out of delusion (noun (masculine), ablative singular) Dictionary: moha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 836, col. 1 “loss of consciousness, bewilderment, perplexity, distraction, infatuation, delusion, error, folly”
आरभ्यते ārabhyate · is undertaken (present passive, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: ā-rabh, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 150, col. 1 “to undertake, commence, begin”
कर्म karma · action (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: karman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 258, col. 2 “act, action, performance, business”
यत् yat · which (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
तत् tat · that (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
तामसम् tāmasam · of tamas (adjective (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: tāmasa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 442, col. 3 “appertaining to or affected by the quality tamas”
उच्यते ucyate · is called (present passive, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: vac, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 912, col. 1 “to be called or accounted, be regarded as, pass for”

2 printings differ

Edition differences. Another printing or text reads this place differently.

Word Today's text from Gita Press, Gorakhpur reads: अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनवेक्ष्य च पौरुषम् Today's text from Gita Press (p. 191) reads अनवेक्ष्य ('without looking at'); sanskritdocuments.org and GRETIL read अनपेक्ष्य ('without regard to') with the 1922 edition. The popular texts disagree, so the printing's reading stays (decision 14). The sense is the same.
Word Today's text from Sanskrit Wikisource reads: अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनवेक्ष्य च पौरुषम् Sanskrit Wikisource (the Gita Supersite's text) reads अनवेक्ष्य, like Gita Press.

Consequences=good or evil resulting; loss=of wealth or strength; injury=to others; strength=one's own capacity. ↩

Bhagavad Gita 18.25: meaning and translation

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