Chapter 16 · Divine and demonic natures
Bhagavad Gita 16.2
Non-violence, truth, compassion for all beings.
Shri Bhagavan
अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैशुनम् ।
दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम् ॥
ahiṁsā satyamakrodhastyāgaḥ śāntirapaiśunam / dayā bhūteṣvaloluptvaṁ mārdavaṁ hrīracāpalam
Not harming, truthfulness, freedom from anger, letting go, calm, refusing to speak against people, kindness to living beings, no craving for what one sees, gentleness, modesty, and no restlessness.
हिंदी · अहिंसा, सत्य, क्रोध का न होना, त्याग, शांति, किसी की चुगली न करना, प्राणियों पर दया, विषयों के प्रति लालसा का अभाव, कोमलता, लज्जा और चंचलता का न होना।
What it means
Non-violence, truth, compassion for all beings.
Non-violence, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, calm, not speaking ill of others, compassion for all beings, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, steadiness — these belong to the divine nature.
This is the Trust’s own reading, written for this site. The verse above it is the text.
Where this verse stands
Divine qualities
Verses that share its vocabulary
Near it in the text’s own words.
- 18.53having released egotism, force, arrogance, desire, anger and possessiveness — free of all sense of ‘mine’ and at peace, he becomes fit for oneness with Brahman.
- 10.5Non-violence, evenness of mind, contentment, austerity, giving, fame and disgrace: these many different states of living beings arise from me alone.
- 12.13He bears no ill will towards any living being, is friendly and kind to all, free of the sense of mine and of pride, the same in pain and pleasure, and forgiving.
- 13.7Freedom from pride, freedom from pretence, non-violence, patience, straightness of mind; service to one’s teacher, cleanliness of body and habit, steadiness, and control of oneself;
- 17.14Honouring the devas, the twice-born, one’s teachers and the wise; cleanliness, straightforwardness, celibacy and non-violence — this is called the tapas of the body.
- 2.66The unjoined man has no understanding, and no power to reflect. Without reflection there is no peace, and without peace, where is happiness?
Chosen by shared uncommon vocabulary, weighted so that a rare word counts for far more than a common one. A reading aid, not a claim that these verses mean the same thing.
Common questions
What does Bhagavad Gita 16.2 mean?
Non-violence, truth, compassion for all beings. Non-violence, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, calm, not speaking ill of others, compassion for all beings, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, steadiness — these belong to the divine nature.
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 16.2?
Shri Bhagavan. The speaker is taken from the text’s own उवाच line as transcribed, not inferred from the verse number.