Bhagavad Gita 18.32 Meaning: Adharmam dharmamiti ya manyate

Bhagavad Gita 18.32

अधर्मं धर्ममिति या मन्यते तमसा वृता ।सर्वार्थान् विपरीतांश्च बुद्धिः सा पार्थ तामसी ॥

Adharmam dharmamiti ya manyate tamasa vritaSarvarthan viparitanshcha buddhih sa partha tamasi

adharmaṃ dharmamiti yā manyate tamasā vṛtā |sarvārthān viparītāṃśca buddhiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī ||

How to read these English letters (IAST)

Our explanation Krishna says that the understanding which, covered by darkness, takes adharma to be dharma and sees all things the wrong way round, is understanding of the nature of tamas.

हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि जो बुद्धि अंधकार से ढकी होकर अधर्म को धर्म मानती है और सब बातों को उलटा देखती है, वह तामस है।

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Word by word

अधर्मम् adharmam · adharma, wrong (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: a-dharma, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 20, col. 1 “unrighteousness, injustice, irreligion, wickedness”
धर्मम् dharmam · as dharma, right (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. dharma, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 510, col. 3 “usage, practice, customary observance or prescribed conduct, duty”
इति iti · thus (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. iti, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 165, col. 1 “in this manner, thus”
या yā · which (pronoun (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
मन्यते manyate · thinks (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: man, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 783, col. 1 “to think, believe, imagine, suppose, conjecture”
तमसा tamasā · by darkness (noun (neuter), instrumental singular) Dictionary: tamas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 438, col. 1 “darkness, gloom”
वृता vṛtā · covered (past participle (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: 1. vṛta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1007, col. 2 “concealed, screened, hidden, enveloped, surrounded by, covered with (instr. or comp.)”
सर्वार्थान् sarvārthān · all things (compound (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: sarva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1184, col. 3 “whole, entire, all, every”; artha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 90, col. 3 “thing, object”
विपरीतान् viparītān · turned the wrong way (adjective (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: vi-parīta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 974, col. 1 “being the reverse of anything, acting in a contrary manner, opposite, contrary to (abl.)”
च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
बुद्धिः buddhiḥ · understanding (noun (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: buddhi, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 733, col. 3 “intelligence, reason, intellect, mind, discernment, judgment”
सा sā · that (pronoun (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
पार्थ pārtha · O son of Pritha (noun (masculine), vocative singular) Dictionary: 2. pārtha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 621, col. 3 “metron. of Yudhi-shṭhira or Bhīma-sena or Arjuna”
तामसी tāmasī · of tamas (adjective (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: tāmasa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 442, col. 3 “appertaining to or affected by the quality tamas”

1 printing differs

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

Spelling A digital text reads Same letters. The 1922 edition prints तमसा वृता and सर्वार्थान् विपरीतांश्च as separate words.

Bhagavad Gita 18.32: meaning and translation

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