18.22

यत्तु कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्
कार्ये सक्तमहैतुकम् ।
अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पं च
तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ॥

yat tu kṛtsnavad ekasmin kārye saktam ahaitukam
atattvārthavad alpaṃ ca tat tāmasam udāhṛtam

Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking, to Arjuna (अर्जुन). This is the third knowledge, of tamas (तमस्).

The verse

But that which clings to one work as though it were the whole, without a ground, without the sense of reality, and small: that is declared tāmasa (तामस).

नेपालीमा

तर जुन एउटै कर्ममा त्यो नै सबै हो भनी टाँसिन्छ, आधार बिना, यथार्थको बोध बिना, र सानो, त्यो तामस भनिन्छ।

Where it sits

Knowledge has had its three: one being in all was sāttvika (सात्त्विक), many separate beings were rājasa (राजस), and one small work taken as the whole is tāmasa (तामस). 18.23 leaves knowledge and starts the act.

Split: यत् + तु + कृत्स्नवत् + एकस्मिन् + कार्ये + सक्तम् + अहैतुकम् + अ-तत्त्वार्थ-वत् + अल्पम् + च + तत् + तामसम् + उदाहृतम्

yat + tu + kṛtsnavat + ekasmin + kārye + saktam + ahaitukam + a-tattvārtha-vat + alpam + ca + tat + tāmasam + udāhṛtam

Sanskrit, in depth

The words

देवनागरी	Word	Grammar	Sense
यत्	yat	nominative singular neuter	which.
तु	tu	indeclinable	but.
कृत्स्नवत्	kṛtsnavat	indeclinable	as if it were the whole. kṛtsna (कृत्स्न) is the whole.
एकस्मिन्	ekasmin	locative singular of eka (एक)	in one.
कार्ये	kārye	locative singular	in a single work. In one thing to be done.
सक्तम्	saktam	nominative singular neuter	clinging. Stuck.
अहैतुकम्	ahaitukam	nominative singular neuter	without a ground. hetu (हेतु) is a cause, a reason.
अ-तत्त्वार्थ-वत्	a-tattvārtha-vat	nominative singular neuter	not possessed of the sense of reality. tattva-artha (तत्त्व-अर्थ) is the meaning of the real.
अल्पम्	alpam	nominative singular neuter	small. Slight.
च	ca	indeclinable	and.
तत्	tat	nominative singular neuter	that.
तामसम्	tāmasam	nominative singular neuter	of tamas (तमस्).
उदाहृतम्	udāhṛtam	nominative singular neuter, past participle	is declared. Is cited as.

The phrases

यत् तु कृत्स्नवत् एकस्मिन् कार्ये सक्तम् yat tu kṛtsnavat ekasmin kārye saktam is knowledge stuck to one work as though that work were everything. कृत्स्नवत् एकस्मिन् kṛtsnavat ekasmin is kṛtsnavad ekasmin (कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्). t (त्) before the vowel becomes d (द्).

ahaitukam (अहैतुकम्) says it has no ground. अ-तत्त्वार्थ-वत् अल्पम् च a-tattvārtha-vat alpam ca says it does not carry the sense of the real, and it is small. अ-तत्त्वार्थ-वत् अल्पम् a-tattvārtha-vat alpam is atattvārthavad alpam (अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पम्).

तत् तामसम् उदाहृतम् tat tāmasam udāhṛtam names it. That is declared tāmasa (तामस). तत् तामसम् उदाहृतम् tat tāmasam udāhṛtam is tat tāmasam udāhṛtam (तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्).

Sanskrit in this line

kṛtsnavat (कृत्स्नवत्) and a-tattvārtha-vat (अ-तत्त्वार्थ-वत्) both end in --vat (वत्). The suffix makes "as one that has" or "like." kṛtsnavat (कृत्स्नवत्) is "as if having the whole," used as an adverb on the clinging. a-tattvārtha-vat (अ-तत्त्वार्थ-वत्) agrees with the knowledge: it is a thing that does not have the meaning of reality. Before a vowel the t (त्) of --vat (वत्) becomes d (द्). That is why the line reads vad ekasmin (वदेकस्मिन्) and vad alpam (वदल्पम्). The split puts the t (त्) back.

Say it back

Cover the English. Say what this knowledge clings to, and that it takes it as the whole. If ekasmin kārye (एकस्मिन् कार्ये) becomes all beings, stay here.