Bhagavad Gita 18.35: meaning and translation
Chapter 18: Moksha Sannyasa Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna says that the steadiness by which a dull person does not let go of sleep, fear, grief, despair and arrogance is steadiness of the nature of tamas.
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Bhagavad Gita 18.35
यया स्वप्नं भयं शोकं विषादं मदमेव च ।न विमुञ्चति दुर्मेधा धृतिः सा पार्थ तामसी ॥
Yaya svapnam bhayam shokam vishadam madameva chaNa vimunchati durmedha dhritih sa partha tamasi
yayā svapnaṃ bhayaṃ śokaṃ viṣādaṃ madameva ca |na vimuñcati durmedhā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī ||
Our explanation Krishna says that the steadiness by which a dull person does not let go of sleep, fear, grief, despair and arrogance is steadiness of the nature of tamas.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि जिस धृति से दुर्बुद्धि व्यक्ति नींद, भय, शोक, विषाद और मद को नहीं छोड़ता, वह तामस है।
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Word by word
- यया yayā · by which (pronoun (feminine), instrumental singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
- स्वप्नम् svapnam · sleep (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: svapna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1280, col. 3 “sleep, sleeping”
- भयम् bhayam · fear (noun (neuter), accusative singular) Dictionary: bhaya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 747, col. 1 “fear, alarm, dread, apprehension”
- शोकम् śokam · grief (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: śoka, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1091, col. 1 “sorrow, affliction, anguish, pain, trouble, grief”
- विषादम् viṣādam · despondency (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: vi-ṣāda, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 996, col. 3 “dejection, depression, despondency”
- मदम् madam · pride, intoxication (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: mada, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 777, col. 3 “pride, arrogance, presumption, conceit”
- एव eva · also (indeclinable) Dictionary: 1. eva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “just, exactly, very, same, only, even, alone, merely”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “not, no, nor, neither”
- विमुञ्चति vimuñcati · lets go (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. vi-muc, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 980, col. 2 “to leave, abandon, quit, desert, give up, relinquish”
- दुर्मेधाः durmedhāḥ · the dull-witted (compound (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: dur-medhas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 486, col. 2 “dull-witted, stupid, ignorant”
- धृतिः dhṛtiḥ · steadiness (noun (feminine), nominative singular) Dictionary: dhṛti, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 519, col. 3 “firmness, constancy, resolution, will, command”
- 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”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 126.
That courage is dark, O son of Prithâ! by which an undiscerning man does not give up sleep, fear, sorrow, despondency, and folly.
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 126.
That courage is dark, O son of Prithâ! by which an undiscerning man does not give up sleep, fear, sorrow, despondency, and folly.
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Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 159.
That by which a slow-witted person doth not abandon sleep, fear, grief, and also stupidity, that firmness, O Pârtha, is tâmasic.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 334.
That by which a stupid man does not give up sleep, fear, grief, despondency and also overweening conceit, that fortitude, O Pârtha, is Tâmasic.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 126. Bhagavad Gita 18.35.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 159. Bhagavad Gita 18.35.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 334. Bhagavad Gita 18.35.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 18.35: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/18/35/
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Bhagavad Gita 18.35
यया स्वप्नं भयं शोकं विषादं मदमेव च ।
न विमुञ्चति दुर्मेधा धृतिः सा पार्थ तामसी ॥
“That courage is dark, O son of Prithâ! by which an undiscerning man does not give up sleep, fear, sorrow, despondency, and folly.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 126, public domain)
“That by which a slow-witted person doth not abandon sleep, fear, grief, and also stupidity, that firmness, O Pârtha, is tâmasic.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 159, public domain)
“That by which a stupid man does not give up sleep, fear, grief, despondency and also overweening conceit, that fortitude, O Pârtha, is Tâmasic.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 334, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/18/35/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 18.35?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 18 (Moksha Sannyasa Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026