Lord Krishna
Divine TeacherThe Supreme Lord, the charioteer and divine guide of Arjuna. Krishna delivers the eternal wisdom of the Gita, revealing the nature of the soul, duty, and the path to liberation.
Speaking: Chapter 17, Verse 19
Verse 19
The Yoga of the Three Types of Faith
Austerity practised with deluded obstinacy, with self-torture, or to destroy or harm another — that is declared to be tamasic.
Context & Meaning
The tamasic austerity is defined by two forms: mūḍha-grāheṇa ātmanaḥ pīḍayā (practised with deluded stubbornness, involving self-torture — the blind, compulsive harming of oneself) and parasyotsādanārtham (for the purpose of destroying or harming another person — austerity used as a weapon, as in the ancient concept of tapas performed to curse an enemy). Both are rooted in deep delusion: the first mistakes violence against oneself for purification; the second uses spiritual discipline as a tool of aggression. Both corrupt the very purpose of tapas, which is the refinement of the self toward the highest good.
Scholar Commentaries
1 commentary · Public domainAdi Shankaracharya
AdvaitaMūḍha-grāheṇa — by deluded obstinacy. The word mūḍha (deluded, confused) indicates that the tamasic practitioner genuinely believes they are doing something spiritually valuable, when in fact they are doing something destructive. This makes tamasic austerity more dangerous than simple vice: it is self-harm wearing the mask of spiritual sincerity. The obstinacy (grāha — a grip, a grasping) ensures that correction is resisted — the more someone tries to intervene, the more the tamasic practitioner clings to their harmful practice as evidence of their special commitment.