By ‘false knowledge’ is here to be understood as what is other than knowledge. What is called knowledge is right perception of things. What is other than this is false knowledge. And Tamas springs from knowledge contrary to the true nature of things. It deludes all embodied selves. Delusion is erroneous knowledge. The meaning is that Tamas is the cause of erroneous knowledge. Being the cause of negligence, indolence and sleep, it binds the embodied self through them. ‘Negligence’ is inattentiveness, which causes one to perform works other than what ought to be done. ‘Indolence’ is the tendency to avoid work; it may even develop into absolute inaction. ‘Sleep’ is the state in which the external organs stop working due to exhaustion and seek to recover from the same. In sleep when only the outgoing action of the senses stop, it is called dream state. When even the mind (Manas) ceases to function, it is called dreamless sleep.

He states the cardinal feature forming the ways of bondage through Sattva etc.