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Bhagavad Geeta · Krishna

Chapter 16

दैवासुरसम्पद्विभागयोग

Yoga through Discerning the Divine and Demoniac Natures

Verses

  1. Verse 1

    śrī bhagavānuvāca abhayaṃ sattvasaṃśuddhiḥ jñānayogavyavasthitiḥ| dānaṃ damaśca yajñaśca svādhyāyastapa ārjavam||16.1||

    Meaning

    Lord Shri Krishna continued: Fearlessness, clean living, unceasing concentration on wisdom, readiness to give, self-control, a spirit of sacrifice, regular study of the scriptures, austerity, candour,

  2. Verse 2

    ahiṃsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śāntir apaiśunam| dayā bhūteṣv aloluptvaṃ mārdavaṃ hrīr acāpalam||16.2||

    Meaning

    Harmlessness, truth, absence of wrath, renunciation, contentment, straightforwardness, compassion towards all, uncovetousness, courtesy, modesty, and constancy.

  3. Verse 3

    tejaḥ kṣamā dhṛtiḥ śaucam adroho nātimānitā| bhavanti sampadaṃ daivīm abhijātasya bhārata||16.3||

    Meaning

    Valour, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, freedom from hate and vanity—these are the qualities of one who possesses the divine, O Arjuna!

  4. Verse 4

    dambho darpo 'bhimānaś ca krodhaḥ pāruṣyam eva ca| ajñānaṃ cābhijātasya pārtha sampadam āsurīm||16.4||

    Meaning

    Hypocrisy, pride, insolence, wrath, cruelty, and ignorance belong to those born of godless qualities.

  5. Verse 5

    daivī sampad vimokṣāya nibandhāyāsurī matā| mā śucaḥ sampadaṃ daivīm abhijāto 'si pāṇḍava||16.5||

    Meaning

    Godly qualities lead to liberation; godless ones lead to bondage. Do not be anxious, Prince! You have the Godly qualities.

  6. Verse 6

    dvau bhūtasargau loke 'smin daiva āsura eva ca| daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta āsuraṃ pārtha me śṛṇu||16.6||

    Meaning

    There are two orders of created beings in this world: the divine and the demoniac. I have described the divine at length; now hear from Me, O Arjuna, about the demoniac.

  7. Verse 7

    pravṛttiṃ ca nivṛttiṃ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ| na śaucaṃ nāpi cācāro na satyaṃ teṣu vidyate||16.7||

    Meaning

    The godless do not know how to act or renounce; they lack both purity and truth. They do not understand the right principles of conduct.

  8. Verse 8

    asatyam apratiṣṭhaṃ te jagad āhur anīśvaram| aparasparasambhūtaṃ kim anyat kāmahaitukam||16.8||

    Meaning

    They say the universe is an accident with no purpose and no God. Life is created through sexual union, a product of lust and nothing else.

  9. Verse 9

    etāṃ dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhya naṣṭātmāno 'lpabuddhayaḥ| prabhavanty ugrakarmāṇaḥ kṣayāya jagato 'hitāḥ||16.9||

    Meaning

    Thinking thus, these degraded souls, these enemies of mankind—whose intelligence is negligible and whose deeds are monstrous—come into the world only to destroy.

  10. Verse 10

    kāmam āśritya duṣpūraṃ dambhamānamadānvitāḥ| mohād gṛhītvāsadgrāhān pravartante 'śucivratāḥ||16.10||

    Meaning

    Giving themselves up to insatiable passions, hypocritically, self-sufficiently, and arrogantly, cherishing false conceptions founded on delusion, they work only to carry out their own unholy purposes.

  11. Verse 11

    cintām aparimeyāṃ ca pralayāntām upāśritāḥ| kāmopabhogaparamā etāvad iti niścitāḥ||16.11||

    Meaning

    Poring anxiously over evil resolutions that only end in death, seeking only the gratification of desire as the highest goal, and seeing nothing beyond—

  12. Verse 12

    āśāpāśaśatair baddhāḥ kāmakrodhaparāyaṇāḥ| īhante kāmabhogārtham anyāyenārthasañcayān||16.12||

    Meaning

    Caught in the toils of a hundred vain hopes, enslaved by passion and wrath, they accumulate hoards of unjust wealth, only to indulge their sensual desires.

  13. Verse 13

    idam adya mayā labdham imaṃ prāpsye manoratham| idam astīdam api me bhaviṣyati punar dhanam||16.13||

    Meaning

    Today I have gained this; tomorrow I will fulfil another desire; this wealth is mine now, and the rest will soon be mine.

  14. Verse 14

    asau mayā hataḥ śatrur haniṣye cāparān api| īśvaro 'ham ahaṃ bhogī siddho 'haṃ balavān sukhī||16.14||

    Meaning

    I have slain one enemy; I will slay the others too. I am worthy of enjoying; I am the Almighty, perfect, powerful, and happy.

  15. Verse 15

    āḍhyo 'bhijanavān asmi ko 'nyo 'sti sadṛśo mayā| yakṣye dāsyāmi modiṣya ity ajñānavimohitāḥ||16.15||

    Meaning

    I am wealthy, I am of noble birth; who can compare with me? I will sacrifice, I will give, I will pay—and I will enjoy. Thus blinded by ignorance,

  16. Verse 16

    anekacittavibhrāntā mohajālasamāvṛtāḥ| prasaktāḥ kāmabhogeṣu patanti narake 'śucau||16.16||

    Meaning

    Perplexed by discordant thoughts, entangled in the snares of desire, infatuated by passion, they sink into the depths of hell.

  17. Verse 17

    ātmasambhāvitāḥ stabdhā dhanamānamadānvitāḥ| yajante nāmayajñais te dambhenāvidhipūrvakam||16.17||

    Meaning

    Self-conceited, stubborn, wealthy, proud, and insolent, they make a show of their patronage, disregarding the norms of propriety.

  18. Verse 18

    ahaṅkāraṃ balaṃ darpaṃ kāmaṃ krodhaṃ ca saṃśritāḥ| mām ātmaparadeheṣu pradviṣanto 'bhyasūyakāḥ||16.18||

    Meaning

    Puffed up by power and inordinate conceit, swayed by lust and wrath, these wicked people hate Me, Who am within them as I am within all.

  19. Verse 19

    tān ahaṃ dviṣataḥ krūrān saṃsāreṣu narādhamān| kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu||16.19||

    Meaning

    Those who thus hate Me, who are cruel, the dregs of mankind, I condemn them to a continuous, miserable, and godless rebirth.

  20. Verse 20

    āsurīṃ yonim āpannā mūḍhā janmani janmani| mām aprāpyaiva kaunteya tato yānty adhamāṃ gatim||16.20||

    Meaning

    So, reborn, they spend life after life enveloped in delusion, and they never reach Me, O Prince, but degenerate into even lower forms of life.

  21. Verse 21

    trividhaṃ narakasyedaṃ dvāraṃ nāśanam ātmanaḥ| kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas tasmād etat trayaṃ tyajet||16.21||

    Meaning

    The gates of hell are three: lust, wrath, and avarice; they destroy the Self, so avoid them.

  22. Verse 22

    etair vimuktaḥ kaunteya tamodvārais tribhir naraḥ| ācaraty ātmanaḥ śreyas tato yāti parāṃ gatim||16.22||

    Meaning

    These are the gates that lead to darkness; if one avoids them, they will ensure their own welfare and eventually attain liberation.

  23. Verse 23

    yaḥ śāstravidhim utsṛjya vartate kāmakārataḥ| na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṃ na parāṃ gatim||16.23||

    Meaning

    But he who neglects the commands of the scriptures and follows the promptings of passion does not attain perfection, happiness, or the final goal.

  24. Verse 24

    tasmāc chāstraṃ pramāṇaṃ te kāryākāryavyavasthitau| jñātvā śāstravidhānoktaṃ karma kartum ihārhasi||16.24||

    Meaning

    Therefore, whenever there is doubt as to whether you should do something or not, let the scriptures guide your conduct. In the light of the scriptures, you should labour your whole life.

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