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| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| अभयम् | abhayam | अभय (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | fearlessness |
| सत्त्व-संशुद्धिः | sattva-saṃśuddhiḥ | सत्त्व (n.) + संशुद्धि (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | purification of (one's) existence |
| ज्ञान-योग-व्यवस्थितिः | jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ | ज्ञान (n.) + योग (m.) + व्यवस्थिति (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | steadiness in the yoga of knowledge |
| दानम् | dānam | दान (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | giving, charity |
| दमः | damaḥ | दम (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | sense-restraint |
| च | ca | ind. (indeclinable) | and |
| यज्ञः | yajñaḥ | यज्ञ (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | sacrifice |
| स्वाध्यायः | svādhyāyaḥ | स्व + अध्याय (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | Vedic self-study |
| तपः | tapaḥ | तपस् (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | austerity |
| आर्जवम् | ārjavam | आर्जव (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | straightforwardness |
| अहिंसा | ahiṃsā | अहिंसा (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | non-injury |
| सत्यम् | satyam | सत्य (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | truth |
| अक्रोधः | akrodhaḥ | अ + क्रोध (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), bahuvrīhi-flavored neg. cpd. (compound) | absence of anger |
| त्यागः | tyāgaḥ | त्याग (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | renunciation |
| शान्तिः | śāntiḥ | शान्ति (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | tranquillity |
| अपैशुनम् | apaiśunam | अ + पैशुन (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), neg. cpd. (compound) | absence of back-biting |
| दया | dayā | दया (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | compassion |
| भूतेषु | bhūteṣu | भूत (n.) loc.pl. (locative plural) | toward (all) beings |
| अलोलुप्त्वम् | aloluptvam | अ + लोलुप्त्व (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), abstract noun | absence of covetousness |
| मार्दवम् | mārdavam | मार्दव (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | gentleness |
| ह्रीः | hrīḥ | ह्री (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | modesty (shame at improper acts) |
| अचापलम् | acāpalam | अ + चापल (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), neg. cpd. (compound) | absence of fickleness, steadiness |
| तेजः | tejaḥ | तेजस् (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | splendour, vigor |
| क्षमा | kṣamā | क्षमा (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | forbearance |
| धृतिः | dhṛtiḥ | धृति (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | fortitude |
| शौचम् | śaucam | शौच (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | cleanliness (inner and outer) |
| अद्रोहः | adrohaḥ | अ + द्रोह (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), neg. cpd. (compound) | absence of malice |
| न अति-मानिता | na ati-mānitā | न ind. (indeclinable) + अति + मानिता (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | absence of excessive self-regard |
| भवन्ति | bhavanti | √भू pres. (present) 3pl.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | they belong / they come to be |
| सम्पदम् | sampadam | सम्पद् (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | endowment, treasure |
| दैवीम् | daivīm | दैवी (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | divine, godly |
| अभिजातस्य | abhijātasya | अभि + √जन् p.p.p. (past passive participle) gen.sg. (genitive singular)m. | of one (already) born (to) |
| भारत | bhārata | भारत (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular) | O scion of Bharata |
In the beginning of the Fifteenth Chapter, the banyan tree of this material world was explained. The extra roots coming out of it were compared to the activities of the living entities, some auspicious, some inauspicious. In the Ninth Chapter, also, the devas, or godly, and the asuras, the ungodly, or demons, were explained. Now, according to Vedic rites, activities in the mode of goodness are considered auspicious for progress on the path of liberation, and such activities are known as daivī prakṛti, transcendental by nature. Those who are situated in the transcendental nature make progress on the path of liberation. For those who are acting in the modes of passion and ignorance, on the other hand, there is no possibility of liberation. Either they will have to remain in this material world as human beings, or they will descend among the species of animals or even lower life forms. In this Sixteenth Chapter the Lord explains both the transcendental nature and its attendant qualities and the demoniac nature and its qualities. He also explains the advantages and disadvantages of these qualities. The word abhijātasya in reference to one born of transcendental qualities or godly tendencies is very significant. To beget a child in a godly atmosphere is known in the Vedic scriptures as Garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. If the parents want a child in the godly qualities they should follow the ten principles recommended for the social life of the human being. In Bhagavad-gītā we have studied also before that sex life for begetting a good child is Kṛṣṇa Himself. Sex life is not condemned, provided the process is used in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Those who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness at least should not beget children like cats and dogs but should beget them so that they may become Kṛṣṇa conscious after birth. That should be the advantage of children born of a father and mother absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The social institution known as varṇāśrama-dharma – the institution dividing society into four divisions of social life and four occupational divisions or castes – is not meant to divide human society according to birth. Such divisions are in terms of educational qualifications. They are to keep the society in a state of peace and prosperity. The qualities mentioned herein are explained as transcendental qualities meant for making a person progress in spiritual understanding so that he can get liberated from the material world. In the varṇāśrama institution the sannyāsī, or the person in the renounced order of life, is considered to be the head or the spiritual master of all the social statuses and orders. A brāhmaṇa is considered to be the spiritual master of the three other sections of a society, namely, the kṣatriyas, the vaiśyas and the śūdras, but a sannyāsī, who is on the top of the institution, is considered to be the spiritual master of the brāhmaṇas also. For a sannyāsī, the first qualification should be fearlessness. Because a sannyāsī has to be alone without any support or guarantee of support, he has simply to depend on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one thinks, “After I leave my connections, who will protect me?” he should not accept the renounced order of life. One must be fully convinced that Kṛṣṇa or the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His localized aspect as Paramātmā is always within, that He is seeing everything, and He always knows what one intends to do. One must thus have firm conviction that Kṛṣṇa as Paramātmā will take care of a soul surrendered to Him. “I shall never be alone,” one should think. “Even if I live in the darkest regions of a forest I shall be accompanied by Kṛṣṇa, and He will give me all protection.” That conviction is called abhayam, fearlessness. This state of mind is necessary for a person in the renounced order of life. Then he has to purify his existence. There are so many rules and regulations to be followed in the renounced order of life. Most important of all, a sannyāsī is strictly forbidden to have any intimate relationship with a woman. He is even forbidden to talk with a woman in a secluded place. Lord Caitanya was an ideal sannyāsī, and when He was at Purī His feminine devotees could not even come near to offer their respects. They were advised to bow down from a distant place. This is not a sign of hatred for women as a class, but it is a stricture imposed on the sannyāsī not to have close connections with women. One has to follow the rules and regulations of a particular status of life in order to purify his existence. For a sannyāsī, intimate relations with women and possession of wealth for sense gratification are strictly forbidden. The ideal sannyāsī was Lord Caitanya Himself, and we can learn from His life that He was very strict in regards to women. Although He is considered to be the most liberal incarnation of Godhead, accepting the most fallen conditioned souls, He strictly followed the rules and regulations of the sannyāsa order of life in connection with association with women. One of His personal associates, namely Choṭa Haridāsa, was associated with Lord Caitanya along with His other confidential personal associates, but somehow or other this Choṭa Haridāsa looked lustily on a young woman, and Lord Caitanya was so strict that He at once rejected him from the society of His personal associates. Lord Caitanya said, “For a sannyāsī or anyone who is aspiring to get out of the clutches of material nature and trying to elevate himself to the spiritual nature and go back home, back to Godhead, for him, looking toward material possessions and women for sense gratification – not even enjoying them, but just looking toward them with such a propensity – is so condemned that he had better commit suicide before experiencing such illicit desires.” So these are the processes for purification. The next item is jñāna-yoga-vyavasthiti: being engaged in the cultivation of knowledge. Sannyāsī life is meant for distributing knowledge to the householders and others who have forgotten their real life of spiritual advancement. A sannyāsī is supposed to beg from door to door for his livelihood, but this does not mean that he is a beggar. Humility is also one of the qualifications of a transcendentally situated person, and out of sheer humility the sannyāsī goes from door to door, not exactly for the purpose of begging, but to see the householders and awaken them to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is the duty of a sannyāsī. If he is actually advanced and so ordered by his spiritual master, he should preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness with logic and understanding, and if one is not so advanced he should not accept the renounced order of life. But even if one has accepted the renounced order of life without sufficient knowledge, he should engage himself fully in hearing from a bona fide spiritual master to cultivate knowledge. A sannyāsī, or one in the renounced order of life, must be situated in fearlessness, sattva-saṁśuddhi (purity) and jñāna-yoga (knowledge). The next item is charity. Charity is meant for the householders. The householders should earn a livelihood by an honorable means and spend fifty percent of their income to propagate Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. Thus a householder should give in charity to institutional societies that are engaged in that way. Charity should be given to the right receiver. There are different kinds of charity, as will be explained later on – charity in the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Charity in the mode of goodness is recommended by the scriptures, but charity in the modes of passion and ignorance is not recommended, because it is simply a waste of money. Charity should be given only to propagate Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. That is charity in the mode of goodness. Then as far as dama (self-control) is concerned, it is not only meant for other orders of religious society, but is especially meant for the householder. Although he has a wife, a householder should not use his senses for sex life unnecessarily. There are restrictions for the householders even in sex life, which should only be engaged in for the propagation of children. If he does not require children, he should not enjoy sex life with his wife. Modern society enjoys sex life with contraceptive methods or more abominable methods to avoid the responsibility of children. This is not in the transcendental quality, but is demoniac. If anyone, even if he is a householder, wants to make progress in spiritual life, he must control his sex life and should not beget a child without the purpose of serving Kṛṣṇa. If he is able to beget children who will be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can produce hundreds of children, but without this capacity one should not indulge only for sense pleasure. Sacrifice is another item to be performed by the householders, because sacrifices require a large amount of money. Those in other orders of life, namely brahmacarya, vānaprastha and sannyāsa, have no money; they live by begging. So performance of different types of sacrifice is meant for the householders. They should perform agni-hotra sacrifices as enjoined in the Vedic literature, but such sacrifices at the present moment are very expensive, and it is not possible for any householder to perform them. The best sacrifice recommended in this age is called saṅkīrtana-yajña. This saṅkīrtana-yajña, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, is the best and most inexpensive sacrifice; everyone can adopt it and derive benefit. So these three items, namely charity, sense control and performance of sacrifice, are meant for the householder. Then svādhyāya, Vedic study, is meant for brahmacarya, or student life. Brahmacārīs should have no connection with women; they should live a life of celibacy and engage the mind in the study of Vedic literature for cultivation of spiritual knowledge. This is called svādhyāya. Tapas, or austerity, is especially meant for the retired life. One should not remain a householder throughout his whole life; he must always remember that there are four divisions of life – brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. So after gṛhastha, householder life, one should retire. If one lives for a hundred years, he should spend twenty-five years in student life, twenty-five in householder life, twenty-five in retired life and twenty-five in the renounced order of life. These are the regulations of the Vedic religious discipline. A man retired from household life must practice austerities of the body, mind and tongue. That is tapasya. The entire varṇāśrama-dharma society is meant for tapasya. Without tapasya, or austerity, no human being can get liberation. The theory that there is no need of austerity in life, that one can go on speculating and everything will be nice, is recommended neither in the Vedic literature nor in Bhagavad-gītā. Such theories are manufactured by show-bottle spiritualists who are trying to gather more followers. If there are restrictions, rules and regulations, people will not become attracted. Therefore those who want followers in the name of religion, just to have a show only, don’t restrict the lives of their students, nor their own lives. But that method is not approved by the Vedas. As far as the brahminical quality of simplicity is concerned, not only should a particular order of life follow this principle, but every member, be he in the brahmacārī āśrama, gṛhastha āśrama, vānaprastha āśrama or sannyāsa āśrama. One should be very simple and straightforward. Ahiṁsā means not arresting the progressive life of any living entity. One should not think that since the spirit spark is never killed even after the killing of the body there is no harm in killing animals for sense gratification. People are now addicted to eating animals, in spite of having an ample supply of grains, fruits and milk. There is no necessity for animal killing. This injunction is for everyone. When there is no alternative, one may kill an animal, but it should be offered in sacrifice. At any rate, when there is an ample food supply for humanity, persons who are desiring to make advancement in spiritual realization should not commit violence to animals. Real ahiṁsā means not checking anyone’s progressive life. The animals are also making progress in their evolutionary life by transmigrating from one category of animal life to another. If a particular animal is killed, then his progress is checked. If an animal is staying in a particular body for so many days or so many years and is untimely killed, then he has to come back again in that form of life to complete the remaining days in order to be promoted to another species of life. So their progress should not be checked simply to satisfy one’s palate. This is called ahiṁsā. Satyam. This word means that one should not distort the truth for some personal interest. In Vedic literature there are some difficult passages, but the meaning or the purpose should be learned from a bona fide spiritual master. That is the process for understanding the Vedas. Śruti means that one should hear from the authority. One should not construe some interpretation for his personal interest. There are so many commentaries on Bhagavad-gītā that misinterpret the original text. The real import of the word should be presented, and that should be learned from a bona fide spiritual master. Akrodha means to check anger. Even if there is provocation one should be tolerant, for once one becomes angry his whole body becomes polluted. Anger is a product of the mode of passion and lust, so one who is transcendentally situated should check himself from anger. Apaiśunam means that one should not find fault with others or correct them unnecessarily. Of course to call a thief a thief is not faultfinding, but to call an honest person a thief is very much offensive for one who is making advancement in spiritual life. Hrī means that one should be very modest and must not perform some act which is abominable. Acāpalam, determination, means that one should not be agitated or frustrated in some attempt. There may be failure in some attempt, but one should not be sorry for that; he should make progress with patience and determination. The word tejas used here is meant for the kṣatriyas. The kṣatriyas should always be very strong to be able to give protection to the weak. They should not pose themselves as nonviolent. If violence is required, they must exhibit it. But a person who is able to curb down his enemy may under certain conditions show forgiveness. He may excuse minor offenses. Śaucam means cleanliness, not only in mind and body but in one’s dealings also. It is especially meant for the mercantile people, who should not deal in the black market. Nāti-mānitā, not expecting honor, applies to the śūdras, the worker class, which are considered, according to Vedic injunctions, to be the lowest of the four classes. They should not be puffed up with unnecessary prestige or honor and should remain in their own status. It is the duty of the śūdras to offer respect to the higher class for the upkeep of the social order. All these twenty-six qualifications mentioned are transcendental qualities. They should be cultivated according to the different statuses of social and occupational order. The purport is that even though material conditions are miserable, if these qualities are developed by practice, by all classes of men, then gradually it is possible to rise to the highest platform of transcendental realization.
In the Purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada explains: "In the beginning of the Fifteenth Chapter, the banyan tree of this material world was explained. The extra roots coming out of it were compared to the activities of the living entities, some auspicious, some inauspicious. In the Ninth Chapter, also, the devas, or godly, and the asuras, the ungodly, or demons, were explained. Now, according to Vedic rites, activities in the mode of goodness are considered auspicious for progress on the path of liberation, and such activities are known as daiviprakrti, transcendental by nature. Those who are situated i transcendental nature make progress on the path of libera For those who are acting in the modes of passion and ignorance, on the other hand, there is no possibility of liberation. Either they will have to remain in this material world as human beings, or they will descend among the species of animals or even lower life forms. In this Sixteenth Chapter the Lord explains both the transcendental nature and its attendant qualities and the demoniac nature and its qualities. He also explains the advantages and disadvantages of these qualities." In the 13th Chapter the basic principle of transmigration is explained in that verse: karanam guna‑sango'sya/ sad‑asad‑yoni‑ janmasu, 'according to one's association with the modes of material nature, one transmigrates meeting good and bad in different species of life'. Then in 14th Chapter, the nature of the forces of material nature that carry one and condition one within the body are described. In 15th Chapter, (if we remember the Vedic tree of the material world), how the living entity in the reflected portion of the material world, the nature of his transmigration from branch to branch to branch is described. And the purpose of this transmigration and the purpose of the Vedic scriptures has been given as to bring us to the unperverted, to the reality where real existence takes place ‑ in the spiritual world. It takes place through surrender to Krsna. But most of the verses were leading us to that point and explain a lot about transmigration. The top portion, closer to the spiritual world, the births in that realm are high in the modes of material nature ‑ first class cells in the material world ‑ bodies affected by the mode of goodness. In the lower portions of the tree, downwards, are those bodies very much affected by ignorance. This Chapter describes to the two extreme aspects of transmigration ‑ and ungodly or demoniac. The benefit of a godly birth which is infused with the quality of goodness is the ability further than goodness and go to that spiritual world where one's going one never returns. That is the benefit of godly birth. But here in this Chapter, both extremes are painted into the picture of transmigration. In Section A of this Chapter a basic introduction to the divine, those qualities in the mode of goodness which lead to liberation is given. And then a very concise explanation of the demoniac nature. Then in Section B a more detailed description of the demoniac nature is given. And in Section C, the point of it all: how to escape from demoniac life and therefore elevate oneself and go back home back to Godhead. The conclusion is the basic difference between divine life and demoniac life: that the divine soul follows the sastra and therefore go up and demoniac do not follow the sastra and therefore the result of their life is horrible for themselves and for others. These two conclusions: avoiding the demoniac by giving up the three gates to hell and accept the process of elevation through following the sastras. The first three verses describe those who are going up ‑ the divine qualities. Then next text describes those of a different nature.
COMMON THEME: Krishna lists characteristics of saintly persons – Qualities that elevate us on the banyan tree
and ultimately lead to liberation
16.1 अभयम् fearlessness? सत्त्वसंशुद्धिः purity of heart? ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः steadfastness in knowledge and Yoga? दानम् atmsgiving? दमः control of the senses? च and? यज्ञः sacrifice? च and? स्वाध्यायः study of Sastras? तपः austerity? आर्जवम् straightforwardness.Commentary The Lord made a mention of the three kinds of Nature that belong to sentient beings? viz.? the nature of the gods? Asuras and Rakshasas? in the ninth discourse (verses 12 and 13). He now describes them in detail in this discourse. The distinction between the god or the godman and the Asuras is clearly drawn in the first? second? third and fourth verses. Daivi Prakriti or the nature of the gods leads to Moksha or release from the round of birth and death. The nature of the Asuras and Rakshasas leads to bondage. This is an obstacle to the attainment of knowledge of the Self. The divine nature must be accepted and cultivated the Asuric and Rakshasic nature should be abandoned. All these alities are found in human beings. There are Sattvic people who possess the divine attributes there are Asuras and Rakshasas among human beings also? who are endowed with demoniacal alities? who are filled with excessive Tamas. In an ordinary man there is a mixture of the three Gunas. Tamas and Rajas pull a man downwards Sattva lifts a man upwards. Tamas and Rajas lead to bondage Sattva helps to attain salvation. Discipline yourself and develop Sattva This is the foundation of Yoga. This is the first preparatory discipline. The first rung in the spiritual ladder is reached by developing Sattva. When the mind is Sattvic? thee is calmness in it. Divine light can descend only when the mind is serene and cheerful.The Sattvic man controls the senses? does selfless service? and practises Japa? Pranayama? concentration? meditation? selfanalysis and eniry of Who am I He is not attracted by sensual objects. He has a burning desire for attaining Moksha. He is humble? generous? merciful? forbearing? tolerant and pious. He destroys his little personality. The Rajasic man is proud? intolearnt? egoistic? selfsufficient? lustful? hottermpered? greedy and jealous. He works for his own glory and fame and selfaggrandisement. he develops his own little vain personality.There is intimate connection between the Gunas and Karmas. The nature of the Karmas depends upon the nature of the Gunas. A Sattvic man will do virtuous actions. A Rajasic and Tamasic man will perform evil actions. It is the Guna that goads a man to do actions. The Self or Brahman is actionless. It is the silent witness.The Lord sums up in the first three verses the alities of a godly man who is inclined to the path of liberation. He then enumerates the alities of the demoniacal man. The theme of this chapter is the tracing of the difference between the divine and the Asuric nature.Virtue and vice are relative terms. The virtue of one period will become the vice of the other. From the transcendental point of view? there is neither virtue nor vice.Why should there be evil How did evil arise -- these are all transcendental estions (Atiprasnas). You can get answers to these estions only when you attain Selfrealisation. People unnecessarily rack their brains to get an answer to these estions. It is a serious mistake.Daivi Sampat (divine wealth or the wealth of divine alities) helps the aspirant to attain knowledge of the Self. The Sattvic or divine attributes such as fearlessness? purity of heart? control of the senses? etc.? constitute Daivi Sampat. They enable the aspirant to attain the highest state of superconsciousness (Nirvikalpa Samadhi) wherein the seer and the seen are united in one? the meditator and the meditated become identical. Divine alities or attributes which go to augment the bliss of the Self? which help the aspirant to attain the happiness of the Self? are called divine,wealth.Among the divine alities? fearlessness stands foremost. Fear is an effect of ignorance. Identification with the body causes fear. Blind attachment to the body? wife? children? house or property is the cause of fear. The sge who has realised the Self is absolutely fearless.He who knows the Bliss of Brahman from which words as well as the mind turn powerless? fears nothing. (Taittiriya Upanishad)Fearlessness is the devout observance of the precepts enjoined in the scriptures without doubting. The state of being free from the fear? How can I live now when I have renounced everything? when I have none to support me is fearlessness. A Sannyasi resolves when he takes Sannyasa? I will not induce fear in any living creature. Keeping up this resolve of Abhaya Dana (gift of the boon of fearlessness to all creatures) in thought? word and deed is Abhayam or fearlessness. Fear can be removed by constant thinking of the immortal and allblissful nature of the Self. If you lead a life of honesty and truthfulness? if you devoutly observe the precepts of the scriptures without doubting? if you lead a life of right conduct? and if you remember God always? you will become fearless. When one beholds the Self only everywhere? when the sense of duality has vanished? when the sense of unity has dawned in him? how can he be afraid of anything? how can the feeling of fear arise in him Fearlessness is essential for the attainment of Moksha or salvation. Fearlessness is the chief characteristic of a liberated sage. It is the one accurate measure of ones spiritual progress. It is the cardinal virtue of an illumined sage. That is the reason why it is placed in the forefront of all divine alities. Only a liberated sage can be absolutely fearless.Sattvic Subha Vasana (good tendency) is Daivi Sampat. It induces a man to practise discrimination? dispassion? control of the mind and the senses? etc.? which help him to attain knowledge of the Self. The Rajasic and the Tamasic (Asubha or evil) Vasnas (tendencies) which operate along the currents of RagaDvesha (likes and dislikes)? which induce one to perform actions which are prohibited by the scriptures and which produce disastrous effects? constitute demoniacal nature.In Asuric nature inclination towards sensual pleasures is predominant in Rakshasic nature hatred predominates and the Rakshasa does various sorts of harm and injury to others.Good tendencies lead to Moksha. Evil tendencies lead to bondage. Good tendencies must be cultivated. Evil tendencies should be eradicated. You shoul first have a knowledge of the essential nature of these two Vasanas? if you wish to cultivate the good tendencies and eradicate the evil ones. This sixteenth discourse gives a vivid description of these tendencies.Sattvasamsuddhih Purity of understanding? cleanliness of life or purity of heart. Purity of mind? i.e.? giving up of cheating? hypocrisy? untruth and the like? in all dealings with the people? and doing transactions with perfect honesty and integrity is Sattvasamsuddhi.When the understanding abides constantly in the immortal Self and is thus firm and steadfast? you may know this to be a condition of purity. On account of purity the mind can know the Self. The state of the mind wherein it is free from doubts like Asambhavana (thought of improbability of the existence of the Self)? etc.? through hearing of the scriptures is Sattvasamsuddhi. As purity of mind cannot be obtained without devotion to the Lord? devotion is implied in these Sattvic virtues.Jnana Knowledge understanding the nature of the Self? as taught in the scriptures and by the preceptor Selfrealisation through meditation on the Great Sentence of the Upanishad. I am Brahman (Aham Brahmasmi)? is Jnana.Yoga is union of the individual soul with the Supreme Being it is the direct realisation of the Self by concentration and meditation? through selfrestraint or control of the senses. The aspirant cognises through direct perception by the inner eye of intuition or wisdom what has been learnt from the scriptures and the preceptor. The aspirant attains Selfrealisation or direct knowledge. He becomes one with Brahman -- the Absolute. He gets indirect knowledge or mere understanding or theoretical knowledge of Brahman from the scriptures. Now through the practice of Yoga he gets direct knowledge. The attempt which is favourable for the annihilation of the mind and the latent tendencies is also known as Yoga.Jnanayogavyavasthitih The state of Jivanmukti attained through Jnana Yoga? which is distinct from the state of the worldlyminded persons.Fearlessness? purity of heart and steadfastness in knowledge and Yoga are the three preeminent virtues amongst the Sattvic attributes enumerated in verses 1 to 3. They are found in Jnana Yogins only. The other alities are common to Jnana Yogins? Karma Yogins? Raja Yogins and Bhaktas. Unless you possess Sattvic virtues? you cannot practise any kind of Yoga. If you cultivate one virtue? all other virtues will cling to you by themselves. Fearlessness is the basis and foundation of the whole of mans moral structure within.Svadhyaya and Tamas constitute Kriya Yoga. Svadhyaya constitutes BrahmaYajna. Almsgiving and sacrifice pertain to Karma Yoga. Almsgiving? selfcontrol and sacrifice constitute Daivi Sampat for householders. Those alities mentioned in chapter XVI? verses 1 to 3? which belong to the aspirant who practises a particular form of Yoga constitute the Daivi Sampat of the disciple on that path.Dana Almsgiving distributing food? clothes? etc.? as far as it iles in ones power? according to ones means. A charitable man hastens to comfort the distressed and helps the needy. Charity is of three kinds? viz.? Sattvic? Rajasic and Tamasic (see chapter XVII? 20 to 22). It opens the gates of heaven. It will bring nearer the means of liberation. Just as the tree gives fruit and shade without distinction? so also give to him who needs? without distinction? with a cheerful heart.Dama Selfrestraint? selfcontrol? control of the external senses. The control of the inner senses or the mind is described in the next verse.The practice of selfcontrol annihilates the union between the senses and the sensual objects. It separates the senses from their respective objects. The aspirant will not allow the wind of the sensual objects to blow through the gateway of his senses. He keeps the senses under the strictest restraint. He lights the fire of dispassion at all the ten gates of the body. He takes rigid vows. He observes Mauna (the vow of silence) and celibacy. He is moderate in his diet. He keeps the golden medium in everything. He checks the outgoing tendencies of the mind and the senses. He induces the mind and the senses to turn backwards towards their source. Just as an enemy is cut down by means of a weapon? so also every tendency towards sensual objects is cut down by the practice of selfcontrol. All internal promptings? cravings and Vasanas should be burnt in the fire of renunciation? at the ten gates of the senses. As householders cannot practise perfect control of the senses? even moderation or regulated and disciplined life will constitute selfrestraint for them. The practice of selfcontrol includes forgiveness? harmlessness? truth? steadiness and,patience.Yajna Sacrifice. The fireworship (Agnihotra) and the like enjoined in the Vedas and also the sacrifice to the gods (DevaYajna) or worship of the gods? PitriYajna? BhutaYajna? ManushyaYajna and BrahmaYajna enjoined in the scriptures (Smritis).Svadhyaya Study of the Vedas in order to attain the unseen fruits.Tapas Austerity? moritification of the body and other forms of penance. True Tapas is meditation on the Self. It is fixing the mind on Brahman or the Self. It is to separate oneself from the physical body and the other four sheaths and to identify oneself with the Absolute. It is to turn the mind towards the soul. The three kinds of Tapas mentioned in chapter XVII? verses 14 to 16 come under this category.Arjavam Straightforwardness. This is conducive to the attainment of knowledge. The aspirant should always be candid? upright or straightforward. Straightforwardness should be his constant attitutde. A just and truthful man alone can be straightforward. He is respected by the people. He is liked by all. He attains success in all his endeavours. He never hides facts or truth.
A gardener who tends twenty-six saplings does not water one and let the rest die. The divine qualities listed here are a single grove, not a menu — fearlessness shades truthfulness, charity feeds austerity, modesty roots the whole. Kṛṣṇa hands Arjuna the full inventory so he can audit which sapling in himself has gone untended.
When Yudhiṣṭhira walked the earth as emperor, contemporaries marked in him almost the whole list at once — truthfulness so reliable that his chariot wheels rode a hand's breadth above the ground, compassion that refused to abandon even a dog at heaven's gate, fearlessness on the battlefield, and a tongue free of envy even toward Duryodhana.
He is the Mahābhārata's living demonstration that these qualities are not poetic ideals; they cluster naturally in one who is abhijātaḥ — born of divine nature.
Five years old, surrounded by demons under orders to kill him, Prahlāda showed almost every divine quality of the list. Abhayam (fearlessness) — he did not flinch before sword, fire, serpent, or elephant. Ahiṁsā — he prayed for the deliverance even of his persecutors. Satyam — he refused to lie about Viṣṇu's supremacy to save his life. Akrodhaḥ — no anger ever clouded his speech toward his father.
The whole catalog of 16.1–3 appeared in a single small body. The Lord protects such a one without being asked.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| दम्भः | dambhaḥ | दम्भ (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | ostentation, religious hypocrisy |
| दर्पः | darpaḥ | दर्प (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | arrogance |
| अभिमानः | abhimānaḥ | अभि + मान (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | self-conceit, false self-identification |
| च | ca | ind. (indeclinable) | and |
| क्रोधः | krodhaḥ | क्रोध (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | anger |
| पारुष्यम् | pāruṣyam | पारुष्य (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | harshness (of speech and act) |
| एव | eva | ind. (emphatic) | indeed |
| अज्ञानम् | ajñānam | अ + ज्ञान (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), neg. cpd. (compound) | ignorance, lack of discernment |
| अभिजातस्य | abhijātasya | अभि + √जन् p.p.p. (past passive participle) gen.sg. (genitive singular)m. | of one born (to) |
| पार्थ | pārtha | पार्थ (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular) | O son of Pṛthā |
| सम्पदम् | sampadam | सम्पद् (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | endowment |
| आसुरीम् | āsurīm | आसुरी (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | demonic, asuric |
In this verse, the royal road to hell is described. The demoniac want to make a show of religion and advancement in spiritual science, although they do not follow the principles. They are always arrogant or proud in possessing some type of education or so much wealth. They desire to be worshiped by others, and demand respectability, although they do not command respect. Over trifles they become very angry and speak harshly, not gently. They do not know what should be done and what should not be done. They do everything whimsically, according to their own desire, and they do not recognize any authority. These demoniac qualities are taken on by them from the beginning of their bodies in the wombs of their mothers, and as they grow they manifest all these inauspicious qualities.
The Lord now speaks of the fruits which cause bondage. Dambha means to announce oneself as religious even though one has a sinful nature. Darpa means pride due to wealth, knowledge and the like. Abhimāna means to desire respect from others or attachment to wife, sons and other things. Krodha means anger. Pāruṣya means cruelty. Ajñāna means lack of discrimination. These are the qualities of the asura, which indicate other types of beings, such as Rākṣasas as well. These qualities belong to the person born at a moment indicating attainment of rajasic or tamasic qualities.
The Lord now speaks of qualities of the asura which cause hellish existence, in one verse. Dambha means performance of religious duties with the intention of being known as a religious person. Darpa means pride in having a good lineage or knowledge, thinking that one should be respected. Krodha means anger. Pāruṣya means using rough language in front of others. The word ca indicates all the qualities opposite to those mentioned in the previous verses, such as cāpala, having useless actions. [Note: Thus the asura sampat includes such qualities as hiṁsā, asatya, atyāga, aśānti, paiśunam, and lolupatva.] Ajñāna means devoid of intelligence to discriminate between what is proper and what is improper conduct. The word ca indicates the qualities such as adhṛti, and those following from the previous list (śaucam, droho, ātimānitā). These qualities appear in a person born with inauspicious impressions (āsurīm sampadam) which manifest from sinful actions, and which bear fruit at the time of taking a body. The śruti says pāpaḥ pāpena: the sinful person is born through sinful acts.
In his Purport Srila Prabhupada says: "In this verse, the royal road to hell is described. The demoniac want to make a show of religion and advancement in spiritual science, although they do not follow the principles. They are always arrogant or proud in possessing some type of education or so much wealth. They desire to be worshiped by others, and demand respectability, although they do not command respect. Over trifles they become very angry and speak harshly, not gently. They do not know what should be done and what should not be done. They do everything whimsically, according to their own desire, and they do not recognize any authority. These demoniac qualities are taken on by them from the beginning of their bodies in the wombs of their mothers, and as they grow they manifest all these inauspicious qualities.
Six demoniac qualities – This verse describes the “Royal road to hell”
LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 16.4 & 16.5: Krishna next removes Arjuna’s doubt about whether his own
participation in the battle as a warrior – and therefore as a killer – will be due to possessing a demoniac
temperament
16.4 दम्भः hypocrisy? दर्पः arrogance? अभिमानः selfconceit? च and? क्रोधः wrath? पारुष्यम् harshness? एव even? च and? अज्ञानम् ignorance? च and? अभिजातस्य to the one born for? पार्थ O Partha? सम्पदम् state?,आसुरीम् demoniacal.Commentary Dambha Hypocrisy. To pretend to be what one is not? to pretend to be religious and pious. It consists of bragging of ones own greatness. Religious hypocrisy is the worst form of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is a mixture of deceit and falsehood. Those who boast about their own merits will get demerit only.Darpa Arrogance. Pride of learning? wealth? high connection? etc. An arrogant man cannot endure to see his fellowmen happy. He is more and more enraged at the fortune of his fellowmen in the matter of learning? happiness and prosperity.Parushyam (in speech) To speak of the blind as having lotuslike eyes? of the ugly as beautiful? of a man of low birth as one of high birth and so on? usually with an ulterior? selfish or evil motive.Ajnanam Ignorance? misconception of ones duties. An ignorant man is blind as to what should be done and what should not be done. There is absence of discrimination. Just as a child will put anything it gets in its hands into its mouth? whether it is clean or dirty? so also is the condition of the ignorant man who is not able to discriminate between the Real and the unreal? the good and the evil? virtue and vice. He is on the path of destruction. He does not know the road that leads to Moskha or liberation. He is drowned in the ocean of this worldly existence.These are the six demonical alities. These evil alities constitute the satanic or demonical wealth. They are obstacles on the path of liberation.By addressing Arjuna as Partha? Lord Krishna implies that Arjuna has no demonical alities in him as he is born in a noble family and is the son of Pritha.People of Asuric nature have no faith. They dispute every doctrine. They deny the existence of God. They deny the cycle of the worldprocess? the Vedas and the laws of ethics. Sensual indulgence is their goal. They rob people and take away their neighbours wives. They kill people ruthlessly. They do not believe in reincarnation and in the other world. They have no idea of right conduct? purity and selfrestraint.Asuras are those persons who have waged war and who still wage war with the gods in heaven. Those who are endowed with Asuric tendencies or evil alities are Asuras or demons. They exist in abundance in this iron age. Kamsa was an Asura. Hiranyakasipu was an Asura.Even a man of university alitifactions and titles is a veritable Asura if he is endowed with evil tendencies or Asubha Vasanas.Esoterically? the war between the Asuras and the gods is the internal fight that is ever going on between the pure and the impure tendencies in man? between Sattva and RajasTamas.
A six-headed snake — pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness, ignorance — strikes from whichever head is closest. Cut at one neck and the others still hiss. Kṛṣṇa names all six so the sādhaka cannot pretend the problem is only the loudest one.
Sañjaya, narrating to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, paints Duryodhana as the textbook figure for these six. Dambha — he displayed his army to Droṇa to flatter himself. Darpa — he believed his birth and wealth made him untouchable. Abhimāna — he could not bear that Yudhiṣṭhira's palace had a finer floor than his own. Krodha — anger drove him to disrobe Draupadī. Pāruṣya — his speech was a knife. Ajñāna — he could not see, even at the moment of his death by Bhīma's mace, that his cousins were dharma.
All six in one man. Each one a knot on the rope that dragged Kuruvaṁśa to ruin.
The Rāmāyaṇa gives a parallel portrait. Rāvaṇa was a Vedic scholar, a Śiva-bhakta, a master of music — yet the six āsurī qualities ran through him like a fault-line. His pride at Kailāsa, his arrogance toward Vibhīṣaṇa's counsel, his conceit that he was beyond karmic reach, his anger at the loss of Khara and Dūṣaṇa, his harshness toward Sītā, and his ignorance that Rāma was the Lord — these toppled a kingdom of gold.
Learning and power do not cancel these six; only surrender does.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| दैवी | daivī | दैवी (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), adj. | divine |
| सम्पत् | sampat | सम्पद् (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | endowment, fortune |
| विमोक्षाय | vimokṣāya | वि + मोक्ष (m.) dat.sg. (dative singular) | for liberation |
| निबन्धाय | nibandhāya | नि + बन्ध (m.) dat.sg. (dative singular) | for bondage |
| आसुरी | āsurī | आसुरी (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular), adj. | demonic |
| मता | matā | √मन् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)f. | is considered, held to be |
| मा | mā | ind. (prohibitive particle) | do not |
| शुचः | śucaḥ | √शुच् aor.inj. 2sg.par. (after mā) | grieve, lament |
| सम्पदम् | sampadam | सम्पद् (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | endowment |
| दैवीम् | daivīm | दैवी (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | divine |
| अभिजातः | abhijātaḥ | अभि + √जन् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | born (to) |
| असि | asi | √अस् pres. (present) 2sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | you are |
| पाण्डव | pāṇḍava | पाण्डव (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular) | O son of Pāṇḍu |
Lord Kṛṣṇa encouraged Arjuna by telling him that he was not born with demoniac qualities. His involvement in the fight was not demoniac, because he was considering the pros and cons. He was considering whether respectable persons such as Bhīṣma and Droṇa should be killed or not, so he was not acting under the influence of anger, false prestige or harshness. Therefore he was not of the quality of the demons. For a kṣatriya, a military man, shooting arrows at the enemy is considered transcendental, and refraining from such a duty is demoniac. Therefore there was no cause for Arjuna to lament. Anyone who performs the regulative principles of the different orders of life is transcendentally situated.
The Lord shows the effects of these two attainments in this verse. “It appears that I have the asuric traits which will lead to bondage in saṁsāra, since I desire to kill enemies by shooting arrows and am thus filled with cruelty and anger.” To comfort Arjuna who was thus worried, the Lord speaks. “Do not worry. You are born with the daiva qualities. O Pāṇḍava! For one born in a kṣatriya family, anger and cruelty during war are prescribed by the scriptures. To do otherwise would make you of the asuric nature, possessing violence and other bad qualities.”
This verse describes the differing results of the two sets of qualities. The first half of the verse is clear. Arjuna was thinking that he belonged to the āsuric group and would go to hell, since he was contaminated with anger and harsh words, and desired to kill Droṇa and others worthy of worship, by shooting his arrows. The Lord, seeing Arjuna in this state, addressed him saying, “Do not worry. O son of Pāṇḍu, you are of the godly nature for, being a kṣatriya, it is prescribed that you should shoot arrows and show rough behavior. To do otherwise than that would give you the nature of an asura. Do not lament.”
Even one with a demoniac nature can change his qualities in favorable association, because one’s
qualities develop according to one’s association. By associating with those overwhelmed by lust,
anger and greed, we become lusty, angry and greedy. Then again, we can develop perfect qualities
by associating with the perfect: guru, sādhu and śāstra.
In Melbourne, during his 1975 visit, Śrīla Prabhupāda was asked, “How can I become sincere?”
His answer: “How can you become a drunkard? If you want to become a drunkard, you associate
with drunkards. If you want to become sincere, associate with these devotees. They are sincere.”
16.7: Even if a demon propounds a philosophy, its value is compared to the preaching of the vul-
ture and the jackal. Once, a boy died, and his relatives, lamenting with great emotion, gathered
around the body in preparation for the funeral ceremony. Suddenly a jackal appeared, and with
sweet words, began to glorify the affection which those present felt for the boy. He also began to
speak of the boy’s wonderful qualities and then requested those present to spend the precious
hours until sunset (before which abody should be cremated) bathed in sweet remembrances of the
boy. They could return in the morning to burn the body, he said.
Meanwhile, a vulture, after eyeing the situation from above, swooped down. He immediately be-
gan philosophically refuting the jackal’s words. The vulture explained that the soul, the actual loved
one within the body, had already departed, and that lamenting for a dead body was simply senti-
mental and foolish. The vulture then recommended that all present should become philosophically
fixed in the difference between body and soul, and should leave without further lamentation. In this
way the vulture, who would feast on the body if the relatives left, spoke to defeat the jackal’s ar-
gument. The jackal, being a creature of the night, planned to devour the body in the dark.
Regardless of the specific words spoken, the vulture, the jackal and the demoniac speak philosophy
only to achieve their selfish ends.
16.5 दैवी divine? सम्पत् state? विमोक्षाय for liberation? निबन्धाय for bondage? आसुरी the demoniacal? मता is deemed? मा not? शुचः grieve? सम्पदम् state? दैवीम् the divine? अभिजातः one born for? असि (thou) art? पाण्डव O Pandava.Commentary Sampat Endowment? wealthy state? nature? virtue.Moksha Liberation from the bondage of Samsara? release from the round of birth and death. The,divine nature leads to salvation the demoniacl nature? to bondage.As Arjuna was already griefstricken and dejected? Lord Krishna assures him not to feel alarmed at this description of the Asuric alities which bring grief and delusion? as he was born with Sattvic tendencies? leading towards salvation. Arjuna? on hearing the words of Lord Krishna? might have thought within himself? Do I possess divine nature or demoniacal nature The Lord? in order to remove Arjunas doubt? said? Grieve not? O Arjuna? thou art born with divine alities. Thou art fortunate. Thou mayest attain to the happiness of Selfrealisation.Do not think? O Arjuna? that by engaging yourself in battle and killing people you will become an Asura. Grieve not on this score. You will establish the kingdom of righteousness by fighting this righteous battle.
Two ropes lie before the traveler — one is a lifeline thrown from the far shore, the other is the chain at his feet. The same hand can choose. Kṛṣṇa, having shown both, leans down and whispers: do not worry, you are already on the side of the lifeline.
This verse is the only place in chapter 16 where Kṛṣṇa speaks personally to Arjuna as Pāṇḍava. After describing the demoniac at length, He pauses — almost tenderly — to say: do not worry. You were born on the divine side.
The whole Gītā shows Arjuna oscillating between confidence and despair. Here Kṛṣṇa heads off the despair this catalog of vices might trigger in a sensitive disciple. The teacher knows when the student has heard enough warning and needs a hand on the shoulder.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| द्वौ | dvau | द्वि numeral, nom.du. (nominative dual)m. | two |
| भूत-सर्गौ | bhūta-sargau | भूत (n.) + सर्ग (m.) nom.du. (nominative dual), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | creations of beings, classes of created beings |
| लोके | loke | लोक (m.) loc.sg. (locative singular) | in (this) world |
| अस्मिन् | asmin | इदम् pron. (pronoun) loc.sg. (locative singular)m. | in this |
| दैवः | daivaḥ | दैव (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | the divine (class) |
| आसुरः | āsuraḥ | आसुर (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | the demonic (class) |
| एव | eva | ind. (emphatic) | indeed |
| च | ca | ind. (indeclinable) | and |
| विस्तरशः | vistaraśaḥ | ind. (adverb) | at length, in detail |
| प्रोक्तः | proktaḥ | प्र + √वच् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | (has been) spoken of |
| आसुरम् | āsuram | आसुर (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m./n. | the demonic (class), as object of hearing |
| पार्थ | pārtha | पार्थ (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular) | O Pārtha |
| मे | me | अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) gen.sg. (genitive singular) | from Me |
| शृणु | śṛṇu | √श्रु impv. 2sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | hear |
Lord Kṛṣṇa, having assured Arjuna that he was born with the divine qualities, is now describing the demoniac way. The conditioned living entities are divided into two classes in this world. Those who are born with divine qualities follow a regulated life; that is to say they abide by the injunctions in scriptures and by the authorities. One should perform duties in the light of authoritative scripture. This mentality is called divine. One who does not follow the regulative principles as they are laid down in the scriptures and who acts according to his whims is called demoniac or asuric. There is no other criterion but obedience to the regulative principles of scriptures. It is mentioned in Vedic literature that both the demigods and the demons are born of the Prajāpati; the only difference is that one class obeys the Vedic injunctions and the other does not.
Now Kṛṣṇa begins to explain about the asuric qualities to the despondent Arjuna. I have spoken about the divine persons in detail already, in verse 1-3.
Seeing that Arjuna’s lamentation did not go away, the Lord began to describe the qualities of the asura. In this world of humans who are ordained to act (asmin loke), there are two types of created humans (bhūta sargau). When a person in this world of men restricts his inborn attraction and repulsion through the injunctions of scripture and performs goals according to the scriptures, he is godly. When he gives up scriptural injunctions and acts against scripture under the control of attraction and repulsion, he is demonic. There does not exist anything other than dharma and adharma in wandering through millions of births in this universe. The śruti says dvayā ha prājapatyā devāś cāsurāś ca: the deva and the asura, these two were produced by Brahmā. (Bṛhad Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.3.1) I have in detail described the divine perons in verses 1-3. Now hear about the demon. I will describe him in detail
These naturally follows the information about the modes because these qualities are coming from the modes of passion and ignorance. Their realizations are:
Two kinds of created beings – ‘Divine’ and ‘Demoniac’
(a) On what basis Krishna considers that Arjuna is born of saintly qualities and his fighting is not
demoniac
(a) Importance of the word “Abhijatasya”
(a) Demoniac qualities
1. Pride – Demoniac want to make a show of religion and advancement in spiritual science, but
do not follow the principles
2. Arrogance – Proud in possessing some education or wealth and thus arrogant
3. Conceit – Desire to be worshipped by others (Demand respect, but do not command
respect)
4. Anger – Over trifles they become angry
5. Harshness – Speak harshly
6. Ignorance
16.6 द्वौ two? भूतसर्गौ types of beings? लोके in world? अस्मिन् (in) this? दैवः the divine? आसुरः demonical? एव even? च and? दैवः the divine? विस्तरशः at length? प्रोक्तः has been described? आसुरम् demoniacal? पार्थ O Partha? मे from Me? श्रृणु hear.Commentary The two divisions of created beings? the one divine and the other satanic? carry on their respective activities in accordance with their natural tendencies or traits.In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad also you will find Verily there are two classes of the Creators creatures -- gods and demons (I.3.1).Bhutasargau Creations of beings? types or classes of creatues. Creation here means what is created. The men who are created with the two kinds of nature? the divine and the demonical? are here mentioned as the two creations. Every man in this world comes under the one or the other of the two creations? the divine and the demoniacal.Lord Krishna says to Arjuna? I will now describe to thee the characteristics of those men who are endowed with the devilish alities. If you have an understanding of the demoniacal alities? you will avoid them. The demoniacal nature is described in detail to the very end of this discourse.There is some reference in chapter IX? verses 9? 11 and 12? to the demoniacal nature but as the description is incomplete it is completed in this discourse.The divine nature has been declared in detail by the blessed Lord in the previous chapters -- the state of a Sthitaprajna in chapter II? the state of a Bhagavata in chapter XII and the state of a Trigunatita in chapter XIV and in the first three verses of this discourse.
A botanist standing at a forest edge says: there are two kinds of trees here, the fruit-bearing and the thorn-bearing. I have walked you through the fruit-grove; now we step into the thorns so you can recognize them by their bark before they cut you. Kṛṣṇa speaks as such a guide.
The Bhāgavatam recounts that Diti gave birth to two demoniac brothers, Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa, while Aditi gave birth to the devas. Born of the same patriarch, Kaśyapa, the two clans were nevertheless of opposite natures from the womb forward.
The verse's claim — dvau bhūta-sargau loke asmin — is not abstract taxonomy but observation. The Purāṇas show again and again that the two natures coexist in the world and that the line between them is set early, deeper than circumstance.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| प्रवृत्तिम् | pravṛttim | प्र + √वृत् → प्रवृत्ति (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | right action, what should be undertaken |
| च | ca | ind. (indeclinable) | and |
| निवृत्तिम् | nivṛttim | नि + √वृत् → निवृत्ति (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | abstention, what should be avoided |
| जनाः | janāḥ | जन (m.) nom.pl. (nominative plural) | people |
| न | na | ind. (negation) | not |
| विदुः | viduḥ | √विद् perf. (perfect) 3pl.par. (used as pres. (present)) | they know |
| आसुराः | āsurāḥ | आसुर (adj.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | demonic (ones) |
| शौचम् | śaucam | शौच (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | purity, cleanliness |
| अपि | api | ind. (indeclinable) | also, even |
| आचारः | ācāraḥ | आ + √चर् → आचार (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | proper conduct, right behaviour |
| सत्यम् | satyam | सत्य (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | truth, truthfulness |
| तेषु | teṣu | तद् pron. (pronoun) loc.pl. (locative plural)m. | in them |
| विद्यते | vidyate | √विद् pass. (passive) pres. (present) 3sg., (with na = is not found) | is found |
In every civilized human society there is some set of scriptural rules and regulations which is followed from the beginning. Especially among the Āryans, those who adopt the Vedic civilization and who are known as the most advanced civilized peoples, those who do not follow the scriptural injunctions are supposed to be demons. Therefore it is stated here that the demons do not know the scriptural rules, nor do they have any inclination to follow them. Most of them do not know them, and even if some of them know, they have not the tendency to follow them. They have no faith, nor are they willing to act in terms of the Vedic injunctions. The demons are not clean, either externally or internally. One should always be careful to keep his body clean by bathing, brushing teeth, shaving, changing clothes, etc. As far as internal cleanliness is concerned, one should always remember the holy names of God and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. The demons neither like nor follow all these rules for external and internal cleanliness. As for behavior, there are many rules and regulations guiding human behavior, such as the Manu-saṁhitā, which is the law of the human race. Even up to today, those who are Hindu follow the Manu-saṁhitā. Laws of inheritance and other legalities are derived from this book. Now, in the Manu-saṁhitā it is clearly stated that a woman should not be given freedom. That does not mean that women are to be kept as slaves, but they are like children. Children are not given freedom, but that does not mean that they are kept as slaves. The demons have now neglected such injunctions, and they think that women should be given as much freedom as men. However, this has not improved the social condition of the world. Actually, a woman should be given protection at every stage of life. She should be given protection by the father in her younger days, by the husband in her youth, and by the grownup sons in her old age. This is proper social behavior according to the Manu-saṁhitā. But modern education has artificially devised a puffed-up concept of womanly life, and therefore marriage is practically now an imagination in human society. The social condition of women is thus not very good now, although those who are married are in a better condition than those who are proclaiming their so-called freedom. The demons, therefore, do not accept any instruction which is good for society, and because they do not follow the experience of great sages and the rules and regulations laid down by the sages, the social condition of the demoniac people is very miserable.
Pravṛttim means dharma and nivṛttim means adharma.
In twelve verses, the Lord discusses the demonic group. The demonic persons do not know what is to be performed as dharma and what is to be avoided because it is adharma. The use of the word ca twice indicates that they do not also know the scriptural injunctions for dharma and prohibitions of adharma. This is because they do not have any regard for the Vedas. They do not have internal or external cleanliness (śaucam) necessary for following vedic injuntions. They do not have conduct (ācāraḥ) according the rules of Manu and others. They do not have truth (satyam), words telling the facts for the benefit of living entities. Their teachings are like the sound of jackels and vultures.
This verse establishes the Demoniac nature
(a) Don’t know what is to be done and not to be done / Do not follow sastras
▪ in Vedas – No faith in Vedic injunction
▪ in Sages – Do not accept any instructions or experiences of great sages – this
causes ‘miserable social condition’ of demoniac people
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SECTION II
16.7 प्रवृत्तिम् action? च and? निवृत्तिम् inaction? च and? जनाः men? न not? विदुः know? आसुराः the demoniac? न not? शौचम् purity? न not? अपि also? च and? आचारः (right) conduct? न not? सत्यम् truth? तेषु in them? विद्यते is.Commentary The demoniacal do not understand the nature of action and inaction (right abstinence). The idea of a Self apart from the body? doing nothing (actionless) but imply watching the play of the Gunas is something incomprehensible to them. They have no consideration for the interest of others. They work for the sake of their bodies or sensual enjoyment. They are greedy? selfish and cruel. Therefore? they have neither good conduct nor good behaviour. They are untruthful? unjust and impure. They do not know what actions they should do in order to attain the goal of life or end of human existence? nor from what actions they should refrain to ward off,evil.Those who are endowed with demoniacal alities are sunk in the mire of ignorance. They are totally ignorant of what is prescribed or what is prohibited action. They have not the least idea of what purity or cleanliness is. Their actions are crooked. They know neither right Pravritti nor right Nivritti. They have no idea of virtue or vice or of scriptural injunctions or prohibitions. They will never speak loving words. They are hypocrites and liars.
A traveler at a fork in the road who cannot read the signpost. Pravṛtti and nivṛtti — what to do and what not to do — are the two arrows on the post. The demoniac do not read; they wander whichever way the wind of desire blows, and arrive nowhere worth arriving.
Kaṁsa knew that Devakī's child would kill him — a clear sign of what not to do, namely persecute her. Yet he imprisoned his sister, murdered six newborns, and pursued Kṛṣṇa for years.
He was not stupid; he was a scholar of statecraft and an able administrator of Mathurā. But pravṛtti-nivṛtti viduḥ — knowing what to do and what not to do — had collapsed in him. Cleanliness, proper behavior, truth — none remained. The Bhāgavatam shows the inevitable end.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| असत्यम् | asatyam | अ + सत्य (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), neg. cpd. (compound) | unreal, untrue |
| अप्रतिष्ठम् | apratiṣṭham | अ + प्रतिष्ठा (f.) → adj. acc.sg. (accusative singular)n. | without foundation, ungrounded |
| ते | te | तद् pron. (pronoun) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | they |
| जगत् | jagat | जगत् (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | the world, universe |
| आहुः | āhuḥ | √अह् / √ब्रू perf. (perfect) 3pl.par. (used as pres. (present)) | they say, declare |
| अनीश्वरम् | anīśvaram | अन् + ईश्वर (m.) → adj. acc.sg. (accusative singular)n. | without a controller / God |
| अपरस्पर-सम्भूतम् | aparaspara-sambhūtam | अपर + परस्पर + सम्भूत p.p.p. (past passive participle) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n., cpd. (compound) | arisen from mutual (male-female) union |
| किम् | kim | interr. (interrogative) pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. | what |
| अन्यत् | anyat | अन्य (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. | other (cause) |
| काम-हैतुकम् | kāma-haitukam | काम (m.) + हैतुक (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) | having lust as its (sole) cause |
The demonic conclude that the world is phantasmagoria. There is no cause and effect, no controller, no purpose: everything is unreal. They say that this cosmic manifestation arises due to chance material actions and reactions. They do not think that the world was created by God for a certain purpose. They have their own theory: that the world has come about in its own way and that there is no reason to believe that there is a God behind it. For them there is no difference between spirit and matter, and they do not accept the Supreme Spirit. Everything is matter only, and the whole cosmos is supposed to be a mass of ignorance. According to them, everything is void, and whatever manifestation exists is due to our ignorance in perception. They take it for granted that all manifestation of diversity is a display of ignorance, just as in a dream we may create so many things which actually have no existence. Then when we are awake we shall see that everything is simply a dream. But factually, although the demons say that life is a dream, they are very expert in enjoying this dream. And so, instead of acquiring knowledge, they become more and more implicated in their dreamland. They conclude that as a child is simply the result of sexual intercourse between man and woman, this world is born without any soul. For them it is only a combination of matter that has produced the living entities, and there is no question of the existence of the soul. As many living creatures come out from perspiration and from a dead body without any cause, the whole living world has come out of the material combinations of the cosmic manifestation. Therefore material nature is the cause of this manifestation, and there is no other cause. They do not believe in the words of Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram: “Under My direction the whole material world is moving.” In other words, among the demons there is no perfect knowledge of the creation of the world; every one of them has some particular theory of his own. According to them, one interpretation of the scriptures is as good as another, for they do not believe in a standard understanding of the scriptural injunctions.
This verse describes the thinking process of the asuras. They say that the world is an illusory conception, based on falsity (asatyam); that it is without shelter (apratiṣṭha), not having even the basis of a flower in the sky; that it is without creatorship of a controller since it is false (anīśvaram). Because it has arisen from nowhere like entities from perspiration, it has not arisen from a cause (aparaspara-saṁbhūtam). What else can be said (kim anyat)? Its cause is just according to the desire of those who propound theories about it (kāma haitukam). If they can imagine that the world arises only by illusion, then that becomes the cause. Others explain the verse thus: It has no proof, no confirmation from the Vedas, Purāṇas or other sources of knowledge (asatyam). It is said: trayo vedasya kartāro bhaṇḍa-dhūrta-niśācarā The makers of the three Vedas are jackals imitating wise men. [Note: This is the philosophy of Cārvāka and others of the Lokāyata school. This is quoted by Śrīdhara Svāmī as well, but the source is not given.] It has no state of dharma or adharma (apratiṣṭham). The ideas of dharma and adharma are both mistaken conceptions. The Lord also is conceived on the basis of mistake or bhrama (anīśvaram). “It is observed that the world arises only from the mutual interactions of men and women.” This is not a fact. The world does not arise from their interaction (aparaspara-saṁbhūtam). Though it is said that the child arises from the mother and father, it is a mistaken idea, like false knowledge that the pot has arisen from the potter. What should be said? The cause of the world is simply a speculation of one’s whim (kāma-haitukam). By logic, whatever different persons speak about atoms, māyā or God, they talk of that as the cause.
The Lord shows the conclusions of the demons. He speaks first of one soul (impersonal) philosophy. This world is false (asatyam), filled with error, like thinking shell is silver. The world has no basis (apratiṣṭham), like a flower in the sky. It has no God as a cause for its creation, maintenance and destruction (anīśvaraḥ). Being of this nature, it is just composed of an illusion. If there were a Supreme Lord within the world, the world He created would not be so ephemeral. Therefore they consider that the world must be false. This one soul without qualities, known by all sources of knowledge, because of error in knowledge, reflects itself through ignorance as another entity—in the form of the material world, the individual jīvas and the Lord. From the time of realizing ones real nature as the one soul, there is no contradiction, there is only oneness. Until that time of awakening, everything is like elephants, horses and chariots in a dream. In realizing ones true nature, what was imagined out of ignorance should disappear along with the notion of being a separate jīva, just as the chariots and horses disappear during deep sleep. The Lord then describes the theory of svabhāva or nature, advocated by the Buddhists. The world does not arise from the intercourse between men and women (aparaspara sambhūtam) or like a potter produces a pot (with intention), since the parents produce a child with lack of knowledge. Even after men and women enjoy one time only, children appear, and scorpions appear from sweat spontaneously. Thus creation takes place by its own nature, spontaneously, by natures inherent properties. The Lord describes the theory of the Lokāyatas (Carvaka). What more can be said? There is no purpose of the world except to fulfill lust. The lust between men and women alone is the cause of the world, being the motive for all action. Haitukam from hetu indicates some motive. Or the Jains say that is the cause is ones own will—whatever one can imagine according to his reasoning power, he will say that is the cause of the world.
Demoniac philosophy is explained here
(a) World is unreal with no God in control
(b) No cause other than lust and thus this world is produced of sex desire
(b) Unclean – he neither likes nor follow these rules
(c) Improper behavior
(d) Untruthful
16.8 असत्यम् without truth? अप्रतिष्ठम् without (moral) basis? ते they? जगत् the world? आहुः say? अनीश्वरम् without a God? अपरस्परसम्भूतम् brought about by mutual union? किम् what? अन्यत else? कामहैतुकम् with lust for its cause.Commentary They hold that the universe is without any substratum or support or an undying basic reality.This is a description of the opinion of atheists like the Charvakas and other materialists. They do not believe in the existence of Brahman Who is the support of this world. They do not even accept the existence of an Isvara in this world. They say We are unreal. Therefore this world also is unreal? the scriptures which declare the truth are also unreal. What else but lust can be the cause of this universe Sexual passion is the sole cause of all living creatures. There is no such thing as the theory of Karma. The whole world is caused by the mutual union of man and woman under the impulse of lust. There is neither virtue nor vice. There is no Lord Who dispenses the fruits of actions of the individuals according to virtue and vice. Dharma and Adharma are not the basis of this world. Sexual desire is the sole basis for this universe. This world is a world of chance. They are not endowed with the faculty of introspection. They are ignorant of the field (Nature) and knower of the field (God).Mutual union Sexual union it may mean the union of atoms. The world arose from the combination of atoms according to the Vaiseshikas.
A house built on the claim that there is no foundation under it. The occupants insist the walls hold themselves up by lust alone, that no architect drew the plans, that no ground supports the floor. Kṛṣṇa is naming the philosophy of a building that will fall.
The ancient Cārvāka school taught almost exactly what this verse describes. The world is real only as matter; there is no God, no soul, no afterlife; the highest aim is sense-enjoyment in the brief interval one is alive. Eat, drink, and borrow if you must — once burned, who returns?
The Bhāgavatam shows that this philosophy is not modern. It is ancient as the āsura nature itself. Every age renames it; every age the demoniac find it again.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| एताम् | etām | एतद् pron. (pronoun) acc.sg. (accusative singular)f. | this |
| दृष्टिम् | dṛṣṭim | दृष्टि (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | view, vision |
| अवष्टभ्य | avaṣṭabhya | अव + √स्तभ् abs. (absolutive) | having seized, clinging to |
| नष्ट-आत्मानः | naṣṭa-ātmānaḥ | नष्ट p.p.p. (past passive participle) + आत्मन् (m.) nom.pl. (nominative plural), bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) | those whose self is lost / ruined |
| अल्प-बुद्धयः | alpa-buddhayaḥ | अल्प (adj.) + बुद्धि (f.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) | of small intelligence |
| प्रभवन्ति | prabhavanti | प्र + √भू pres. (present) 3pl.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | they arise, come forth (in strength) |
| उग्र-कर्माणः | ugra-karmāṇaḥ | उग्र (adj.) + कर्मन् (n.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) | of fierce / cruel deeds |
| क्षयाय | kṣayāya | क्षय (m.) dat.sg. (dative singular) | for the destruction |
| जगतः | jagataḥ | जगत् (n.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) | of the world |
| अहिताः | ahitāḥ | अ + हित (adj.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., neg. cpd. (compound) | hostile, working against welfare |
The demoniac are engaged in activities that will lead the world to destruction. The Lord states here that they are less intelligent. The materialists, who have no concept of God, think that they are advancing. But according to Bhagavad-gītā, they are unintelligent and devoid of all sense. They try to enjoy this material world to the utmost limit and therefore always engage in inventing something for sense gratification. Such materialistic inventions are considered to be advancement of human civilization, but the result is that people grow more and more violent and more and more cruel, cruel to animals and cruel to other human beings. They have no idea how to behave toward one another. Animal killing is very prominent amongst demoniac people. Such people are considered the enemies of the world because ultimately they will invent or create something which will bring destruction to all. Indirectly, this verse anticipates the invention of nuclear weapons, of which the whole world is today very proud. At any moment war may take place, and these atomic weapons may create havoc. Such things are created solely for the destruction of the world, and this is indicated here. Due to godlessness, such weapons are invented in human society; they are not meant for the peace and prosperity of the world.
Some of these asuras who speak in this way are lost souls (naṣṭātmaṇaḥ), some have little intelligence, some are violent, doing whatever they want, living hellish existence. This is described in eleven verses. Avaṣṭabhya means taking shelter of this conception.
Taking shelter of actions and philosophies to exemplify their respective views, they destroy the world. Dṛṣṭim is in the singular to indicate the whole class of demonic philosophies. Taking support (avaṣṭabhya) of their philosophies, these foolish people, with worthless opinions (alpa buddhayaḥ), devoid of understanding ātmā distinct from the body (naṣṭātmanaḥ), fixed in actions of violence, slander and insult (ugra karmānaḥ), being enemies of the world (jagataḥ ahitāḥ), deviate the world from spiritual truth (kṣayāya prabhavanti).
Demoniac attitude and engagements are explained here
16.9 एताम् this? दृष्टिम् view? अवष्टभ्य holding? नष्टात्मानः ruined souls? अल्पबुद्धयः of small intellect? प्रभवन्ति come forth? उग्रकर्माणः of fierce deeds? क्षयाय for the destruction? जगतः of the world? अहिताः enemies.Commentary They rob others. They acire wealth by destroying others. They boast of their evil actions.Nashtatmanah Ruined souls They have lost all chances of attaining Selfrealisation or going to the higher world.Alpabuddhayah They have a small intellect as they identify themselves with their little bodies full of impurities? as they have no conception of the Supreme Beign? and as their intellects are concerned with the little sensual pleasures only (eating? drinking? etc.).Ugrakarmanah Of fierce deeds They always injure others. They murder for aciring wealth. They do any heinous crime to get money and women. They bring great confusion and destroy the peace and harmony of the world.Enemies of the world World here means people who live in the world.
A fire lit by people who do not understand fire. They light it indoors, near the curtains, with no chimney, calling the smoke their breath. The conflagration spreads not by malice alone but by ignorance of what they are handling. Wrong philosophy is exactly this kind of fire.
Having concluded that there was no God and no higher law, Hiraṇyakaśipu set about reorganizing the universe to his own design. He tortured the saintly, banned worship of Viṣṇu, and persecuted his own son for chanting the holy name.
The Bhāgavatam frames his entire reign as the visible fruit of his philosophy. Naṣṭātmā — he had lost himself. Alpa-buddhi — his vast intelligence had become small under the weight of his ideology. The works that followed were ugra-karma, jagat-kṣayāya — meant to destroy.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| कामम् | kāmam | काम (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | lust, sense-desire |
| आश्रित्य | āśritya | आ + √श्रि abs. (absolutive) | having resorted to, taking shelter of |
| दुष्पूरम् | duṣpūram | दुस् + पूर (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. | hard to fill, insatiable |
| दम्भ-मान-मद-अन्विताः | dambha-māna-mada-anvitāḥ | दम्भ + मान + मद + अन्वित p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., dvandva + tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | filled with hypocrisy, conceit, and intoxication (of pride) |
| मोहात् | mohāt | मोह (m.) abl.sg. (ablative singular) | out of delusion |
| गृहीत्वा | gṛhītvā | √ग्रह् abs. (absolutive) | having seized, grasped |
| असत्-ग्राहान् | asat-grāhān | असत् (adj.) + ग्राह (m.) acc.pl. (accusative plural), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | unreal / wrong objects of attachment |
| प्रवर्तन्ते | pravartante | प्र + √वृत् pres. (present) 3pl.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) | they engage, set themselves in motion |
| अशुचि-व्रताः | aśuci-vratāḥ | अशुचि (adj.) + व्रत (n.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) | having impure vows / commitments |
The demoniac mentality is described here. The demons have no satiation for their lust. They will go on increasing and increasing their insatiable desires for material enjoyment. Although they are always full of anxieties on account of accepting nonpermanent things, they still continue to engage in such activities out of illusion. They have no knowledge and cannot tell that they are heading the wrong way. Accepting nonpermanent things, such demoniac people create their own God, create their own hymns and chant accordingly. The result is that they become more and more attracted to two things – sex enjoyment and accumulation of material wealth. The word aśuci-vratāḥ, “unclean vows,” is very significant in this connection. Such demoniac people are only attracted by wine, women, gambling and meat-eating; those are their aśuci, unclean habits. Induced by pride and false prestige, they create some principles of religion which are not approved by the Vedic injunctions. Although such demoniac people are most abominable in the world, by artificial means the world creates a false honor for them. Although they are gliding toward hell, they consider themselves very much advanced.
They engage in false doctrines (asad grāhān). They perform vrata without pure conduct (aśuci vratāḥ).
Until death (pralayāntām) they take shelter of unlimited thoughts. They are convinced that the only purport of scripture (etāvan iti niścitāḥ) is to let the senses enjoy sense objects, and why worry about it?
This verse describes their evil tendencies and conduct. Taking shelter of thirst for sense enjoyment (duṣpūram kāmam), accepting material objects as all in all (asad grāhān gṛhītvā), out of illusion, not from scriptural direction (mohāt), having impure vows (aśuci vratāḥ), they engage in activities (pravartate). Asad grāhān means wicked crocodiles as well as material properties. They become attached to attractive things like money, property, and women, produced from imaginary devatās, their mantras, and their worship, which destroy spiritual life, but which are difficult to restrain, like ferocious crocodiles. “Impure vows” means they indulge in so-called religious vows which include eating meat, taking liquor, and visiting the crematorium. Dambha means that they act for being known as religious even though they are irreligious. Māna means that they proclaim themselves to be worshippable, though they are not worthy of respect. Mada means that they project themselves the most elevated of persons though they have no good qualities. They are endowed with these qualities. Bg 16.11, Bg 16.12, Bg 16.11-12 icNTaaMaPairMaeYaa& c Pa[l/YaaNTaaMauPaaiī[Taa" ) k-aMaaePa>aaeGaParMaa WTaavidiTa iNaiêTaa" )) 11 )) AaXaaPaaXaXaTaEbRṬa" k-aMa§-aeDaParaYa<aa" ) wRhNTae k-aMa>aaeGaaQaRMaNYaaYaeNaaQaRSaĀYaaNa( )) 12 )) cintām aparimeyāṁ ca pralayāntām upāśritāḥ kāmopabhoga-paramā etāvad iti niścitāḥ āśā-pāśa-śatair baddhāḥ kāma-krodha-parāyaṇāḥ īhante kāma-bhogārtham anyāyenārtha-sañcayān cintām—fears and anxieties; aparimeyām—immeasurable; ca—and; pralaya-antām—unto the point of death; upāśritāḥ—having taken shelter of; kāma-upabhoga—sense gratification; paramāḥ—the highest goal of life; etāvat—thus; iti—in this way; niścitāḥ—having ascertained; āśā-pāśa—entanglements in a network of hope; śataiḥ—by hundreds; baddhāḥ—being bound; kāma—of lust; krodha—and anger; parāyaṇāḥ—always situated in the mentality; īhante—they desire; kāma—lust; bhoga—sense enjoyment; artham—for the purpose of; anyāyena—illegally; artha—of wealth; sañcayān—accumulation.
Engaged in unlimited thinking of objects to be attained up to the point of death, their only goal in this life is to immerse themselves in sense objects (kāma upabhoga paramā), firmly believing (niścitāḥ) that this is all there is (etāvat), and there is no question of happiness in another life after death (etāvad niścitāḥ).
The meaning of the first line is clear. They make effort (īhante) to amass wealth for enjoying sense objects by illegal means such as theft and false testimony (anyāyena). Bg 16.13, Bg 16.14, Bg 16.15, Bg 16.13-15 wdMaÛ MaYaa l/BDaiMaMa& Pa[aPSYae MaNaaerQaMa( ) wdMaSTaqdMaiPa Mae >aivZYaiTa PauNaDaRNaMa( )) 13 )) ASaaE MaYaa hTa" Xa}auhRiNaZYae caParaNaiPa ) wRṅrae_hMah& >aaeGaq iSaṬae_h& bl/vaNSau%q )) 14 )) Aa!yae_i>aJaNavaNaiSMa k-ae_NYaae_iSTa Sad*Xaae MaYaa ) Ya+Yae daSYaaiMa MaaeidZYa wTYajaNaivMaaeihTaa" )) 15 )) idam adya mayā labdham imaṁ prāpsye manoratham idam astīdam api me bhaviṣyati punar dhanam asau mayā hataḥ śatrur haniṣye cāparān api īśvaro 'ham ahaṁ bhogī siddho 'haṁ balavān sukhī āḍhyo 'bhijanavān asmi ko 'nyo 'sti sadṛśo mayā yakṣye dāsyāmi modiṣya ity ajñāna-vimohitāḥ idam—this; adya—today; mayā—by me; labdham—gained; imam—this; prāpsye—I shall gain; manaḥ-ratham—according to my desires; idam—this; asti—there is; idam—this; api—also; me—mine; bhaviṣyati—it will increase in the future; punaḥ—again; dhanam—wealth; asau—that; mayā—by me; hataḥ—has been killed; śatruḥ—enemy; haniṣye—I shall kill; ca—also; aparān—others; api—certainly; īśvaraḥ—the lord; aham—I am; aham—I am; bhogī—the enjoyer; siddhaḥ—perfect; aham—I am; bala-vān—powerful; sukhī—happy; āḍhyaḥ—wealthy; abhijana-vān—surrounded by aristocratic relatives; asmi—I am; kaḥ—who; anyaḥ—other; asti—there is; sadṛśaḥ—like; mayā—me; yakṣye—I shall sacrifice; dāsyāmi—I shall give charity; modiṣye—I shall rejoice; iti—thus; ajñāna—by ignorance; vimohitāḥ—deluded.
Describing their conduct in pursuit of wealth in which they use fanciful words, the Lord says they will go to hell in four verses. I have obtained today this field (idam), these animals and children by the strength of my intelligence (mayā). I will obtain this other object dear to my mind (manoratham) by my strength. This wealth, being obtained by my strength alone, now belongs to me (idam asti). Next year, this wealth I am longing for will also become mine, just by my strength. He does not acknowledge that it is by karma or the mercy of the Lord that he acquires these things.
Having proclaimed his thirst for wealth, in this verse he declares his evil mentality. I have killed this enemy called Yajñadatta by my superior strength. I alone will kill other enemies also and others (ca)—not even desiring their wives or wealth. No one except me should live. (The word ca indicates this.) Some say that the will of the Lord and fate are the cause of victory, but I alone am the lord, being fully independent, for, by myself, I accomplish all enjoyment (bhogī siddhaḥ). If someone makes a God, let him take me as God rather than anyone else, because no one else is available except me.
“But I can see others who are equal to you in wealth and family. Why should you be God?” I am wealthy (āḍhyaḥ), through my own efforts, and have good family (abhijanavān). There is no one similar to me on any grounds. No one is equal to me: I alone am God. By my own strength, I will associate with heavenly women (yakṣye). I will defile them (dāsyāmi). I will enjoy with them (modiṣye). In this way, being bewildered by ignorance, such persons fall to hell. The completion of the sentence is the next verse.
Demoniac mentality is explained here
16.10 कामम् desire? आश्रित्य abiding in? दुष्पूरम् insatiable? दम्भमानमदान्विताः full of hypocrisy? pride and,arrogance? मोहात् through delusion? गृहीत्वा having held? असद्ग्राहान् evil ideas? प्रवर्तन्ते they work? अशुचिव्रताः with impure resolves.Commentary These soulless malevolent persons perform cruel and sinful actions. Their minds are saturated with vanity? conceit and arrogance. They entertain in their minds unholy resolves and unreasonable ideas. They harbour insatiable desires in their hearts. Just as a monkey becomes more and more intoxicated if wine if given to it? so also the older they grow the more and more arrogant and lustful do they become. They cause the ruin and death of those around them. They boast of their own actions and treat others with great contempt. They are very much attached to their bodies. They worship their bodies. Their passion is boundless. They are stupid and obstinate and so they have no firm determination.Desire is insatiable like fire. Enjoyment cannot bring about satisfaction of the desires. The more you enjoy? the stronger does the desire become. After an object is enjoyed? there springs up a desire to continue the enjoyment for ever. You take recourse to all sorts of devices to preserve the objects.Although a man is not righteous he pretends to be a man of righteousness. This is hypocrisy. Although a man is not worthy of being honoured? he claims to be so. This is Mana (pride). There is false dignity. Although a man does not possess great things he superimposes them on himself. This is Mada.These Asuras make impure resolves. I will worship such and such a deity by repeating such and such a Mantra and get hold of such and such a woman. I will repeat such and such a Mantra and kill such and such a man.
A vessel with a hole at the bottom. Pour in wealth, sense pleasure, prestige — none of it fills. Yet the demoniac, certain that more pouring will work, devote a lifetime to drawing water from the well of impermanent things. Duṣpūram — that which cannot be filled.
Nahuṣa rose to the throne of Indra after Indra fled following a brāhmaṇa-killing. Yet kingship over heaven did not slake him. He demanded that Indra's wife Śacī become his consort and required the saptarṣis themselves to carry his palanquin.
When the sage Agastya, footsore beneath the litter, was kicked by the impatient king, his curse turned Nahuṣa into a serpent for ten thousand years. Insatiable lust, pride, and false prestige — the exact triad of this verse — pulled the king from heaven to the floor of the forest.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| चिन्ताम् | cintām | चिन्ता (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | anxiety, worry |
| अपरिमेयाम् | aparimeyām | अ + परिमेय (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)f., neg. cpd. (compound) | immeasurable |
| प्रलय-अन्ताम् | pralaya-antām | प्रलय (m.) + अन्त (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)f., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) | ending only at (their) dissolution / death |
| उपाश्रिताः | upāśritāḥ | उप + आ + √श्रि p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | having resorted to, attached to |
| काम-उपभोग-परमाः | kāma-upabhoga-paramāḥ | काम (m.) + उपभोग (m.) + परम (adj.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) | holding sense-enjoyment as supreme |
| एतावत् | etāvat | ind. (adverb of quantity) | this much, just this |
| इति | iti | ind. (quotative) | thus (introducing thought) |
| निश्चिताः | niścitāḥ | निस् + √चि p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | convinced, settled (in opinion) |
| आशा-पाश-शतैः | āśā-pāśa-śataiḥ | आशा (f.) + पाश (m.) + शत (n.) ins.pl. (instrumental plural), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | by hundreds of ropes of hope / expectation |
| बद्धाः | baddhāḥ | √बन्ध् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | bound |
| काम-क्रोध-परायणाः | kāma-krodha-parāyaṇāḥ | काम (m.) + क्रोध (m.) + परायण (adj.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) | having lust and anger as their (chief) refuge |
| ईहन्ते | īhante | √ईह् pres. (present) 3pl.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) | they strive, struggle, scheme |
| काम-भोग-अर्थम् | kāma-bhoga-artham | काम (m.) + भोग (m.) + अर्थ (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) used adverbially | for the sake of sense-enjoyment |
| अन्यायेन | anyāyena | अन् + न्याय (m.) ins.sg. (instrumental singular), neg. cpd. (compound) | by unjust means, against rule |
| अर्थ-सञ्चयान् | artha-sañcayān | अर्थ (m.) + सञ्चय (m.) acc.pl. (accusative plural), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | heapings up of wealth |
The demoniac accept that the enjoyment of the senses is the ultimate goal of life, and this concept they maintain until death. They do not believe in life after death, and they do not believe that one takes on different types of bodies according to one’s karma, or activities in this world. Their plans for life are never finished, and they go on preparing plan after plan, all of which are never finished. We have personal experience of a person of such demoniac mentality who, even at the point of death, was requesting the physician to prolong his life for four years more because his plans were not yet complete. Such foolish people do not know that a physician cannot prolong life even for a moment. When the notice is there, there is no consideration of the man’s desire. The laws of nature do not allow a second beyond what one is destined to enjoy. The demoniac person, who has no faith in God or the Supersoul within himself, performs all kinds of sinful activities simply for sense gratification. He does not know that there is a witness sitting within his heart. The Supersoul is observing the activities of the individual soul. As it is stated in the Upaniṣads, there are two birds sitting in one tree; one is acting and enjoying or suffering the fruits of the branches, and the other is witnessing. But one who is demoniac has no knowledge of Vedic scripture, nor has he any faith; therefore he feels free to do anything for sense enjoyment, regardless of the consequences.
Demoniac attitude and engagements are further described
(a) Insatiable lust – They go on increasing their insatiable desires for material enjoyment
(b) Illusioned
(c) Attracted by impermanent
(d) Absorbed in conceit of pride and false prestige – This is practically seen as follows:
(a) Illusioned, no intelligence – because they think to be advancing but engaged in the work that is
destructive
(b) Ugra-karma: Painful, horrible, destructive acts
LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 16.12 & 16.13: Texts 16.13 – 16.15 describe their thoughts after they acquire
money by “illegal means”
16.11 चिन्ताम् cares? अपरिमेयाम् immeasurable? च and? प्रलयान्तम् ending only with death? उपाश्रिताः refuged in? कामोपभोगपरमाः regarding gratification of lust as their highest aim? एतावत् that is all? इति thus? निश्चिताः feeling sure.Commentary They are beset with immense cares? worries and anxieties and their minds are engrossed in aciring and preserving the countless sensual objects. They have got the strong conviction that the sensual enjoyment is the highest end of a man. They are steeped in enjoying the objects of the senses. They firmly believe that that is everything. They believe that sensual enjoyment is the supreme source of happiness and there is no such thing as eternal bliss of the soul or transcendental bliss of the Self. They have no belief in the happiness in another world (or plane) or in the perennial bliss which is independent of sensual objects? which is beyond the reach of the senses. They have a dull and gross intellect? and so they cannot grasp the subtle higher truth. Sensual enjoyment is the greatest object of attainment for them.
A net thrown over a swimmer. Each knot is a hope, each rope an anxiety. The more he thrashes for one fish, the tighter the net binds his arms. Hundreds of thousands of knots — āśā-pāśa-śataiḥ — and beneath them the swimmer no longer remembers he is a swimmer.
On the night the Pāṇḍava sons slept, Aśvatthāmā — driven by anger at Duryodhana's death and the schemes of vengeance — entered their tents and killed the five Upapāṇḍavas in their beds. The act bound him to a curse from Kṛṣṇa: to wander the earth for thousands of years, festering with an unhealable wound, denied even the release of death.
Kāma-krodha-parāyaṇāḥ — situated in the mentality of lust and anger — yields exactly such a fate. The wound he carries is the verse made flesh.
Bound by the network of his brother's schemes and his own lust for power and humiliation of others, Duḥśāsana dragged Draupadī by the hair into the Kuru assembly. The Mahābhārata makes him the verse's case study: anyāyena artha-sañcayān — accumulating by illegal means — and parāyaṇāḥ — entirely given over to lust and anger.
Bhīma's vow to drink the blood of those hands, fulfilled at Kurukṣetra, completes the arc the verse predicts.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| इदम् | idam | इदम् pron. (pronoun) nom./acc.sg. (accusative singular)n. | this |
| अद्य | adya | ind. (indeclinable) | today |
| मया | mayā | अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) ins.sg. (instrumental singular) | by me |
| लब्धम् | labdham | √लभ् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. | gained |
| इमम् | imam | इदम् pron. (pronoun) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. | this |
| प्राप्स्ये | prāpsye | प्र + √आप् fut. (future) 1sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) | I shall obtain |
| मनो-रथम् | mano-ratham | मनस् (n.) + रथ (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | (chariot of the mind:) cherished desire |
| भविष्यति | bhaviṣyati | √भू fut. (future) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | will be |
| पुनः | punaḥ | ind. (indeclinable) | again |
| धनम् | dhanam | धन (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | wealth |
| असौ | asau | अदस् pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | that (yonder) |
| हतः | hataḥ | √हन् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | killed |
| शत्रुः | śatruḥ | शत्रु (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | enemy |
| हनिष्ये | haniṣye | √हन् fut. (future) 1sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) | I shall kill |
| अपरान् | aparān | अपर (adj.) acc.pl. (accusative plural)m. | others |
| अपि | api | ind. (indeclinable) | also |
| ईश्वरः | īśvaraḥ | ईश्वर (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | lord, master |
| अहम् | aham | अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | I |
| भोगी | bhogī | भोगिन् (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | the enjoyer |
| सिद्धः | siddhaḥ | √सिध् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | perfected, accomplished |
| बलवान् | balavān | बल (n.) + मतुप् → बलवत् nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | strong, powerful |
| सुखी | sukhī | सुखिन् (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | happy |
| आढ्यः | āḍhyaḥ | आढ्य (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | rich |
| अभिजनवान् | abhijanavān | अभिजन (m.) + मतुप् → अभिजनवत् nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | of noble birth, well-connected |
| अस्मि | asmi | √अस् pres. (present) 1sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | I am |
| कः | kaḥ | किम् interr. (interrogative) pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | who |
| अन्यः | anyaḥ | अन्य (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | other |
| अस्ति | asti | √अस् pres. (present) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | is, exists |
| सदृशः | sadṛśaḥ | सदृश (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | similar, equal |
| यक्ष्ये | yakṣye | √यज् fut. (future) 1sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) | I shall sacrifice |
| दास्यामि | dāsyāmi | √दा fut. (future) 1sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | I shall give (in charity) |
| मोदिष्ये | modiṣye | √मुद् fut. (future) 1sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) | I shall rejoice |
| इति | iti | ind. (quotative) | thus (closing the inner speech) |
| अज्ञान-विमोहिताः | ajñāna-vimohitāḥ | अज्ञान (n.) + विमोहित p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | deluded by ignorance |
Demoniac mentality is further described
16.13 इदम् this? अद्य today? मया by me? लब्धम् has been gained? इमम् this? प्राप्स्ये (I) shall obtain? मनोरथम् desire? इदम् this? अस्ति is? इदम् this? अपि also? मे to me? भविष्यति shall be? पुनः again? धनम् wealth.Commentary I will be able to acire all that the world possesses. Then I will be the lord of all wealth. No one will be eal to me on the surface of this earth.In future Next year this wealth also shall be mine. I will be known to the world as a man of immense wealth. People will address me as my lord.These demons (who think like this) become selfconceited on account of their wealth. Their heads are swollen with pride. They regard everyone else as worthless as straw. Pride of wealth destroyes their power of discrimination. They strive for happiness but they never obtain it. They are entangled in the meshes of Maya. They are wedded to sin and misry here and hereafter.
A man hoarding river water in clay pots, certain each pot makes him richer, certain the river itself was his idea. The pots crack, the water seeps back to the river, and still he counts the pots. The demoniac inner monologue is exactly this kind of bookkeeping.
After receiving Brahmā's boon making him almost unkillable, Hiraṇyakaśipu's speeches in the Bhāgavatam read almost like a paraphrase of this passage. He had subjugated the planets. He had taken the wealth of the demigods. He was the lord, the enjoyer, the one without rival. Sacrifices were now to be offered to him.
The seventh canto's narrative of his fall — torn open by Nṛsiṁha on the threshold of his own palace, neither inside nor outside, neither day nor night — is the most precise illustration of how this inner monologue ends.
When the Pāṇḍavas were in forest exile, Duryodhana arranged a grand procession to display his royal wealth before them — soldiers, elephants, gold — designed to wound. 'See what I have, see what you have lost.' Idam adya mayā labdham — 'this I have today.' Aham īśvaraḥ — 'I am the lord.'
The procession was attacked by Gandharvas; Duryodhana himself was captured and humiliated, and had to be rescued by the very Pāṇḍavas he meant to humiliate. The verse describes the script; the Mahābhārata supplies the staging.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| अनेक-चित्त-विभ्रान्ताः | aneka-citta-vibhrāntāḥ | अनेक (adj.) + चित्त (n.) + विभ्रान्त p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) | bewildered by many (conflicting) thoughts |
| मोह-जाल-समावृताः | moha-jāla-samāvṛtāḥ | मोह (m.) + जाल (n.) + समावृत p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | completely covered by a net of delusion |
| प्रसक्ताः | prasaktāḥ | प्र + √सञ्ज् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | deeply attached, stuck |
| काम-भोगेषु | kāma-bhogeṣu | काम (m.) + भोग (m.) loc.pl. (locative plural), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | in sense-enjoyments |
| पतन्ति | patanti | √पत् pres. (present) 3pl.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | they fall |
| नरके | narake | नरक (m.) loc.sg. (locative singular) | into hell |
| अशुचौ | aśucau | अ + शुचि (adj.) loc.sg. (locative singular)m., neg. cpd. (compound) | impure |
The demoniac man knows no limit to his desire to acquire money. That is unlimited. He thinks only of how much assessment he has just now and schemes to engage that stock of wealth further and further. For that reason, he does not hesitate to act in any sinful way and so deals in the black market for illegal gratification. He is enamored by the possessions he has already, such as land, family, house and bank balance, and he is always planning to improve them. He believes in his own strength, and he does not know that whatever he is gaining is due to his past good deeds. He is given an opportunity to accumulate such things, but he has no conception of past causes. He simply thinks that all his mass of wealth is due to his own endeavor. A demoniac person believes in the strength of his personal work, not in the law of karma. According to the law of karma, a man takes his birth in a high family, or becomes rich, or very well educated, or very beautiful because of good work in the past. The demoniac think that all these things are accidental and due to the strength of one’s personal ability. They do not sense any arrangement behind all the varieties of people, beauty and education. Anyone who comes into competition with such a demoniac man is his enemy. There are many demoniac people, and each is enemy to the others. This enmity becomes more and more deep – between persons, then between families, then between societies, and at last between nations. Therefore there is constant strife, war and enmity all over the world. Each demoniac person thinks that he can live at the sacrifice of all others. Generally, a demoniac person thinks of himself as the Supreme God, and a demoniac preacher tells his followers: “Why are you seeking God elsewhere? You are all yourselves God! Whatever you like, you can do. Don’t believe in God. Throw away God. God is dead.” These are the demoniac’s preachings. Although the demoniac person sees others equally rich and influential, or even more so, he thinks that no one is richer than he and that no one is more influential than he. As far as promotion to the higher planetary system is concerned, he does not believe in performing yajñas, or sacrifices. Demons think that they will manufacture their own process of yajña and prepare some machine by which they will be able to reach any higher planet. The best example of such a demoniac man was Rāvaṇa. He offered a program to the people by which he would prepare a staircase so that anyone could reach the heavenly planets without performing sacrifices, such as are prescribed in the Vedas. Similarly, in the present age such demoniac men are striving to reach the higher planetary systems by mechanical arrangements. These are examples of bewilderment. The result is that, without their knowledge, they are gliding toward hell. Here the Sanskrit word moha-jāla is very significant. Jāla means “net”; like fish caught in a net, they have no way to come out.
Attached to the enjoyment of their desired objects, they fall to unclean hell, into such places as Vaitaraṇī (filled with blood and pus).
Mind agitated by objects which they are endeavoring to obtain for a long time (aneka citta vibhrāntā), surrounded by a net made of illusion, like fish in a net, from which they cannot escape, dying while being strongly attached to enjoyment of senses objects, they fall to hell, to impure places like Vaitaraṇī. [Note: This is a river in hell filled with blood, bones and pus.]
Results of demoniac work are explained here
(a) Network of illusion – Bound up by network of hundreds and thousands of desires and illusions
(16.16)
(b) Examples of ‘Mohajaal’ (Network of illusion)
(a) The goal of life is sense gratification
(b) Secure money by illegal means for sense-gratification
16.16 अनेकचित्तविभ्रान्ताः bewildred by many a fancy? मोहजालसमावृताः entangled in the snare of delusion? प्रसक्ताः addicted? कामभोगेषु to the gratification of lust? पतन्ति (they) fall? नरके into hell? अशुचौ foul.Commentary Just as a man utters many incoherent words when he gets delirium or high fever? so also these diabolical men prattle about their desires? sensual enjoyment? etc. They commit,countless sins and so they fall into a foul hell such as the Vaitarani. Delusion is a snare because those who are deluded are entrapped. They are caught like fish in the meshes of the net of delusion. They are enveloped by the net on four sides. They are bewildered as to what to do first and what next. As they are enveloped or covered by delusion? they are bewildered in various ways by entertaining various evil thoughts. They have no discrimination between the proper or beneficial and improper or harmful Sadhanas. The lack of the knowledge of the distinction between these two is Moha. As Mohas is a veil and a cause of bondage it is compared to a net.All the alities mentioned above lead to downfall.
A river that loses its banks. First the water spreads — bewilderment. Then it joins other waters and forgets where it came from — the net of illusions. Then it stagnates in low ground — attachment to sense pleasure. Finally it sinks into the swamp — falling into hell. The trajectory is one continuous flow.
Ajāmila, born in a brāhmaṇa family and trained in Vedic conduct, encountered a low woman in the forest and from that moment slid through every stage this verse names. Anxiety over keeping her, the net of illusions about justifying himself, total addiction to sense gratification, and finally a hellish old age in which he sired ten children outside dharma.
The Bhāgavatam preserves his story not as warning alone but as the setting for his rescue at the moment of death — but the trajectory of 16.16 ran its full course before mercy intervened.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| आत्म-सम्भाविताः | ātma-sambhāvitāḥ | आत्मन् (m.) + सम्भावित p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | self-honoring, self-glorifying |
| स्तब्धाः | stabdhāḥ | √स्तम्भ् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | stiff-necked, unyielding |
| धन-मान-मद-अन्विताः | dhana-māna-mada-anvitāḥ | धन (n.) + मान (m.) + मद (m.) + अन्वित p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., dvandva + tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | possessed by the intoxication of wealth and honor |
| यजन्ते | yajante | √यज् pres. (present) 3pl.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) | they sacrifice |
| नाम-यज्ञैः | nāma-yajñaiḥ | नाम (n.) + यज्ञ (m.) ins.pl. (instrumental plural), karmadhāraya / tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | by name-only sacrifices, sham sacrifices |
| ते | te | तद् pron. (pronoun) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | they |
| दम्भेन | dambhena | दम्भ (m.) ins.sg. (instrumental singular) | out of ostentation |
| अविधि-पूर्वकम् | avidhi-pūrvakam | अ + विधि (m.) + पूर्वक (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n. used as adv., neg. cpd. (compound) | without (proper) procedure, contrary to rule |
Thinking themselves all in all, not caring for any authority or scripture, the demoniac sometimes perform so-called religious or sacrificial rites. And since they do not believe in authority, they are very impudent. This is due to illusion caused by accumulating some wealth and false prestige. Sometimes such demons take up the role of preacher, mislead the people, and become known as religious reformers or as incarnations of God. They make a show of performing sacrifices, or they worship the demigods, or manufacture their own God. Common men advertise them as God and worship them, and by the foolish they are considered advanced in the principles of religion, or in the principles of spiritual knowledge. They take the dress of the renounced order of life and engage in all nonsense in that dress. Actually there are so many restrictions for one who has renounced this world. The demons, however, do not care for such restrictions. They think that whatever path one can create is one’s own path; there is no such thing as a standard path one has to follow. The word avidhi-pūrvakam, meaning a disregard for the rules and regulations, is especially stressed here. These things are always due to ignorance and illusion.
Ātma-sambhāvitā means those who have attained worshipable status, but are not respected by any well bred people. Therefore they are unsubmissive (stabdhā). They perform worship by actions which are sacrifice in name only (nāma-yajñaiḥ yajante).
Recognized as preeminent (ātma saṁbhāvitāḥ) by themselves alone, not by knowers of scripture, lacking humility (stabdhā), filled with pride in wealth, filled with pride (mada) at being respected as paramahaṁsa or a great mendicant, worthy of all worship, or greatly learned in worship, they worship devatās they themselves concoct, by rules of worship which is worship in name alone, dressing up as renunciates, and pretending to be religious (dambhena) for the prosperity of their own house and family. All this is without following the Vedic rules (avidhi pūravakm).
Demoniac hypocritical nature and preachings are described here
16.17 आत्मसम्भाविताः selfconceited? स्तब्धाः stubborn? धनमानमदान्विताः filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth? यजन्ते (they) perform? नामयज्ञैः sacrifices in name? ते they? दम्भेन out of ostentation? अविधिपूर्वकम् contrary to scriptural ordinances.Commentary They are puffed up with unbounded pride. They esteem themselves very highly. They are not esteemed or honoured as such by the righteous or pious persons. They have a very high opinion of their own greatness. They esteem themselves as possessed of all the virtuous attributes. They are not humble. They have no humility or meekness. Their minds are entirely filled with a sense of their own importance. They treat others with contempt. They think that others are inferior to them. They never bend their heads and make prostrations to elders or superiors or spiritual teachers and monks. They stand erect like a pillar or iron post? intoxicated as they are with the wine of wealth. They pretend to perform Yajnas.They do not care for an altar? a sacrifical bower or a receptacle for the fire? or any of the proper materials to be used in the sacrifices. They do not pay any attention to the prescribed rules. They do sacrifices in order to increase their own fame. They will not hear even the mentioning of the name of God or Brahmana. How can God or a Brahmana attend their sacrifices They perform sacrifices without paying attention to the several parts of them and the obligations enjoined in the scriptural ordinances such as the recitation of the Mantras? worship of the gods? giving of the fees? etc. They will not do the sacrifices with reverence and faith. They want that all the people should say that they are Somayajis (performers of the Soma sacrifice). They will not attain the fruits of the sacrifice. There is no idea of service in them. They perform sacrifice to deceive the world? but not out of sincerity and faith.Mana Pride consists in supposing oneself worthy of a high honour (on account of ones wealth or learning? etc.).Mada On account of intoxication of wealth the wealthy man treats the Guru and other persons who are worthy of being honoured? with contempt. Wealth and learning turn their heads. This is Mada.
An empty drum painted gold and beaten loudly. The sound is impressive; the inside is hollow. The demoniac's yajña — bright, costly, public — is exactly this: external sacrifice with no internal offering. Scripture demands the offering of the heart; the drum has none to give.
Dakṣa, intoxicated by his position as Prajāpati, performed a great sacrifice and deliberately excluded Śiva — out of personal pride after a perceived slight. Vedic rules require Śiva's portion in every yajña; Dakṣa knew this and proceeded anyway, dambhena, out of pride.
The sacrifice was destroyed by Vīrabhadra at Śiva's command. Dakṣa himself was beheaded and revived with the head of a goat. Ātma-sambhāvitāḥ — self-complacent — exactly. Yajñaiḥ nāma — sacrifices in name only — exactly.
Pauṇḍraka of Karūṣa, deluded by his wealth and the flattery of his courtiers, declared himself the real Vāsudeva. He had a duplicate Sudarśana cakra fashioned, wore the dress of the four-armed Lord, and demanded that Kṛṣṇa surrender to him.
Worship in name only, ritual without substance, performance dressed as devotion. Kṛṣṇa's actual cakra resolved the matter. The Bhāgavatam treats it as comic precisely because the imitation was so total and so empty.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| अहङ्कारम् | ahaṅkāram | अहम् + कार (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | false ego, 'I-maker' |
| बलम् | balam | बल (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | (brute) strength |
| दर्पम् | darpam | दर्प (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | arrogance |
| कामम् | kāmam | काम (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | lust |
| क्रोधम् | krodham | क्रोध (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | anger |
| संश्रिताः | saṃśritāḥ | सम् + √श्रि p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | having resorted to |
| माम् | mām | अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | Me (Kṛṣṇa) |
| आत्म-पर-देहेषु | ātma-para-deheṣu | आत्मन् + पर + देह (m.) loc.pl. (locative plural), dvandva + tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | in their own and others' bodies |
| प्रद्विषन्तः | pradviṣantaḥ | प्र + √द्विष् pres. (present) part. nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | hating, blaspheming |
| अभ्यसूयकाः | abhyasūyakāḥ | अभि + √असू → अभ्यसूयक (adj.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | fault-finding, malicious |
A demoniac person, being always against God’s supremacy, does not like to believe in the scriptures. He is envious of both the scriptures and the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is caused by his so-called prestige and his accumulation of wealth and strength. He does not know that the present life is a preparation for the next life. Not knowing this, he is actually envious of his own self, as well as of others. He commits violence on other bodies and on his own. He does not care for the supreme control of the Personality of Godhead, because he has no knowledge. Being envious of the scriptures and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he puts forward false arguments against the existence of God and denies the scriptural authority. He thinks himself independent and powerful in every action. He thinks that since no one can equal him in strength, power or wealth, he can act in any way and no one can stop him. If he has an enemy who might check the advancement of his sensual activities, he makes plans to cut him down by his own power.
They disrespect Me (pradviṣantaḥ), the Paramātmā, who am situated in their own and others bodies (ātma-para-deheṣu). Or they hate Me who am situated in the bodies of the devotees who are surrendered to Paramātmā (ātma-para-deheṣu mām). They hate Me, since they hate the devotees who have surrendered to Me. And they find fault in the qualities of the devotees (abhyasūyakāḥ).
They are completely disrespectful to the Vedas and the Supreme Lord delineated therein. They take shelter of false ego, strength, pride lust and anger, disrespecting Me, the Lord of all, situated as the controller and maintainer in all bodies including theirs, and as well, disrespecting the Vedas which describe Me. They ascribe faults to the qualities of the Vedas and Myself, by dishonest logic (abhyasūyakāḥ). Their false ego tells them “I alone do everything independently.” Taking shelter of their strength, they think, “I alone am the victor.” Taking shelter of arrogance they say, “There is no one equal to me.” Taking shelter of lust, they say, “”My desires are greater than all others’ combined.” Taking shelter of anger, they think, “I will kill my enemy.”
After describing the mentality and activities of those demons, Krsna describes the results:
[3. Krsna casts these mischievous demons into repeated births in demonic, abominable species. (19‑20) ]
K TEXT 19 tan aham dvisatah kruran samsaresu naradhaman ksioamy ajasram asubhan asurisv eva yonisu
tan‑‑those; aham‑‑I; dvisatah‑‑envious; kruran‑‑mischievous; samsaresu‑‑into the ocean of material existence; nara‑adhaman‑‑the lowest of mankind; ksipami‑‑I put; ajasram‑‑forever; asubhan‑‑inauspicious; asurisu‑‑demoniac; eva‑‑certainly; yonisu‑‑into the wombs.
TRANSLATION
Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.
Demoniac hypocritical nature and preachings are further described here – They (demons) are
envious of God, saintly persons and scriptures
(a) What causes envy:
(b) Result of envy:
(a) Perform religious rituals in name only
(b) Avidhi-purvakam – Disregards the rules and regulations of scriptures and are always impudent
(c) Disbelieve in God – some of the demoniac preachings are:
LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 16.18 & 16.19: The next two texts describe Krishna’s reciprocation with the
demoniac
16.18 अहङ्कारम् egoism? बलम् power? दर्पम् haughtiness? कामम् lust? क्रोधम् anger? च and? संश्रिताः possessed of? माम् Me? आत्मपरदेहेषु in their own bodies and in those of others? प्रद्विषन्तः hating? अभ्यसूयकाः (these) malicious people.Commentary They are selfsufficient and puffed up with mental and material power. They pose too much. They resent it much if they are belittled. The body is dearer to them than everything else. They live solely for it. If anybody tries to thwart their plans or schemes they become bitterly hostile towards him. They take vengeance on him and try to kill him mercilessly. They are extremely meanminded. Just as darness seems to be denser after night sets in? so also as their,folly increases? their arrogance grows? their egoism develops? their pride swells? and their delusion augments day by day. They use brutal force to gain their selfish ends. They abuse and illtreat all those people who are truthful and charitable? and who are devoted to Me.Ahamkaram Egoism The selfarrogating principle? the effect or modification of ignorance. This is the source of all the defects and perversities in human nature and of all evil actions. Lust? anger? greed? pride and hypocrisy are all attendants of egoism. It is very difficult to overcome this dire enemy? but through Vichara (right eniry) it can be annihilated.These Asuras who are very egoistic on account of their deep ignorance esteem themselves very highly for the alities they possess and for those which they falsely superimpose upon themselves. They think that they are very great persons on account of the good alities which they have superimposed upon themselves and their egoism is increased thery. They try to humiliate others by using their financial supremacy. They will bribe people to give false evidence and do anything to attain their selfish ends.Balam Power accompanied by lust and attachment. The Asuras use their strength of body to humiliate and destroy others. If a man is not established in Yama (the fivefold canon of ethical perfection? consisting of noninjury? truthfulness? nonstealing? celibacy and noncovetousness)? if he has no purity of heart? if his mind is surcharged or saturated with evil tendencies? and if he gets power of any sort? he will misuse or abuse it and try to humiliate or abuse others. Powers or Siddhis are bound to come if one practises concentration of mind. If he is endowed with Yama? he will never misuse them and so he will never have a downfall. That is the reason why Patanjali Maharshi says Powers are obstacles on the path of Yoga. Shun them ruthlessly. March onwards to the goal. Climb the ladder of Yoga till you attain the highest state of superconsciousness or Godconsciousness. Do not look back. Have no memories of the past.Yama is the very foundation of Yoga. Get yourself established in Yama before you take to concentration and meditation. Many aspirants get a downfall because they do not practise Yama to begin with. They jump at once to the practice of concentration and meditation. This is sad mistake.Darpa Haughtiness. A man whose heart is filled with haughtiness becomes very insolent and unjust and assumes an overbearing and domineering attitude towards others he never respects the elders? Gurus and others. This is a peculiar vice that has its seat in the mind. When this evil ality manifests itself? one swerves from the path of virtue.Krodha Anger manifests itself when one gets something unplesant and when he comes across something disagreeable.These Asuras hate Me? the Lord Who dwells in their own bodies as the silent witness of their thoughts and actions. They think that I am also a human being and hate Me. They do not understand My allpervading and imperishable nature. They do not care at all to know and follow. My ?nds or the injunctions given in the Vedas and the Smritis. If anyone violates My ?nds given in the scriptures? it is surely tantamount to an act of hatred towards Me. These people are very malicious. They have evil intentions or impure motives. They are jealous of those persons who are virtuous and who tread the path of righteousness. Their hearts burn when they notice good alities in others. This is Matsarya? a form of jealousy. If a man superimposes evil alities on a virtuous man who is endowed with good alities? this is Asuya. If his heart burns when he sees a wealthy or prosperous man? this is Irshya.
A guest who hates his host while eating the food the host has cooked, in the house the host has built, breathing the air the host has provided. The demoniac live every moment inside the Lord — in their own bodies and in the bodies of others — and envy Him. The absurdity is the diagnosis.
Born with three eyes and four arms, Śiśupāla's deformities fell away when the infant Kṛṣṇa was placed in his lap — a sign that this was the Lord he was born to oppose. His mother begged Kṛṣṇa to forgive a hundred offenses of her son. Kṛṣṇa agreed.
Through decades, Śiśupāla — bewildered by false ego, strength, pride, lust, and anger — abused, slandered, and challenged Kṛṣṇa at every turn. At Yudhiṣṭhira's Rājasūya sacrifice, the hundredth offense was reached. The Sudarśana severed his head, and a light entered Kṛṣṇa from the falling body — the soul, even of the envious, eventually returns to its source. The bondage was long; the underlying truth, that Kṛṣṇa was in his body and in all bodies, was never altered.
Hiraṇyakaśipu's envy of Viṣṇu was so deep that he could not bear to hear the name even from his own five-year-old son. He saw the Lord as the murderer of his brother and tried to murder Him by murdering His devotees. The verse's precise list — ahaṅkāra, bala, darpa, kāma, krodha — sat in him in full.
Nṛsiṁha emerged from a pillar — proof that the Lord is situated in ātma para deheṣu, in all places, in all bodies, including the pillar of the throne room. The demoniac envy of the Lord cannot remove the Lord from anywhere.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| तान् | tān | तद् pron. (pronoun) acc.pl. (accusative plural)m. | those |
| अहम् | aham | अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | I |
| द्विषतः | dviṣataḥ | √द्विष् pres. (present) part. acc.pl. (accusative plural)m. | (those) hating |
| क्रूरान् | krūrān | क्रूर (adj.) acc.pl. (accusative plural)m. | cruel |
| संसारेषु | saṃsāreṣu | सम् + √सृ → संसार (m.) loc.pl. (locative plural) | in the rounds of worldly existence |
| नर-अधमान् | nara-adhamān | नर (m.) + अधम (adj.) acc.pl. (accusative plural)m., tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | lowest of men |
| क्षिपामि | kṣipāmi | √क्षिप् pres. (present) 1sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | I hurl, cast |
| अजस्रम् | ajasram | ind. (adverb) | ceaselessly, repeatedly |
| अशुभान् | aśubhān | अ + शुभ (adj.) acc.pl. (accusative plural)m., neg. cpd. (compound) | inauspicious |
| आसुरीषु | āsurīṣu | आसुरी (f.) loc.pl. (locative plural) | into demonic |
| एव | eva | ind. (emphatic) | alone, only |
| योनिषु | yoniṣu | योनि (f.) loc.pl. (locative plural) | wombs, species |
In this verse it is clearly indicated that the placing of a particular individual soul in a particular body is the prerogative of the supreme will. The demoniac person may not agree to accept the supremacy of the Lord, and it is a fact that he may act according to his own whims, but his next birth will depend upon the decision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and not on himself. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Third Canto, it is stated that an individual soul, after his death, is put into the womb of a mother where he gets a particular type of body under the supervision of superior power. Therefore in the material existence we find so many species of life – animals, insects, men, and so on. All are arranged by the superior power. They are not accidental. As for the demoniac, it is clearly said here that they are perpetually put into the wombs of demons, and thus they continue to be envious, the lowest of mankind. Such demoniac species of men are held to be always full of lust, always violent and hateful and always unclean. The many kinds of hunters in the jungle are considered to belong to the demoniac species of life.
Because of their asura mentality they will not get liberation at all. This is explained in two verses. I, the Lord of all, who give results to all according to their karmas, throw them again and again (ajasram) into births as sinful persons (hunters) or mlecchas, involved with violence and thirst for enjoyment.
Fate of demoniac – They are perpetually cast into various demoniac wombs in the ocean of material
existence
16.19 तान् those? अहम् I? द्विषतः (the) hating (ones)? क्रूरान् cruel? संसारेषु in the worlds? नराधमान् worst among men? क्षिपामि (I) hurl? अजस्रम् for ever? अशुभान् evildoers? आसुरीषु of demons? एव only? योनिषु in wombs.Commentary Now listen to the manner in which I deal with all these demoniacal persons who injure people and who take delight in killing people and animals and who hate Me? the indweller of all bodies. I deprive them of their human state and reduce them to a lower condition as subhuman creatures. I hurl them into the wombs of the most cruel beings such as tigers? lions? scorpions? snakes and the like. For ever only means till they purify their hearts. There is no such thing as eternal damnation.Tan Those The enemies of those who tread the path of righteousness and the haters of virtuous persons.Naradhaman Worst among men because they are guilty of the wors evil deeds and they take delight in injuring virtuous persns and in killing persons and animals ruthlessly.Asurishu yonishu Wombs of Asuras Wombs of the most cruel beings such as tigers? lions and the like.
A potter discarding clay that will not hold the wheel — back into the pit it goes, to be soaked and shaped again, life after life. Kṛṣṇa is the potter; the envious āsuras the unworkable clay. The cycle is not punishment but the necessary further softening of what cannot yet be formed.
Even Vaikuṇṭha's gatekeepers were not exempt. When Jaya and Vijaya turned away the four Kumāras in pride, the sages cursed them to take birth in demoniac wombs. They were given a choice: seven births as devotees, or three as the Lord's enemies.
They chose the enemies' path because it was shorter. The Bhāgavatam records their three lives: Hiraṇyākṣa–Hiraṇyakaśipu, Rāvaṇa–Kumbhakarṇa, Śiśupāla–Dantavakra. Āsurīṣu yoniṣu — into demoniac wombs — even by their own choice. The verse describes the standard case; Jaya and Vijaya are the exception that proves the rule.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| आसुरीम् | āsurīm | आसुरी (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | demonic |
| योनिम् | yonim | योनि (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | womb, species |
| आपन्नाः | āpannāḥ | आ + √पद् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | having entered, attained |
| मूढाः | mūḍhāḥ | √मुह् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. | the deluded |
| जन्मनि जन्मनि | janmani janmani | जन्मन् (n.) loc.sg. (repeated for distributive sense) | in birth after birth |
| माम् | mām | अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | Me |
| अप्राप्य | aprāpya | अ + प्र + √आप् abs. (absolutive), neg. cpd. (compound) | without attaining |
| एव | eva | ind. (emphatic) | indeed |
| कौन्तेय | kaunteya | कौन्तेय (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular) | O son of Kuntī |
| ततः | tataḥ | ind. (indeclinable) | from there, thereafter |
| यान्ति | yānti | √या pres. (present) 3pl.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | they go |
| अधमाम् | adhamām | अधम (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)f., superl. | the lowest |
| गतिम् | gatim | गति (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | destination, state |
It is known that God is all-merciful, but here we find that God is never merciful to the demoniac. It is clearly stated that the demoniac people, life after life, are put into the wombs of similar demons, and, not achieving the mercy of the Supreme Lord, they go down and down, so that at last they achieve bodies like those of cats, dogs and hogs. It is clearly stated that such demons have practically no chance of receiving the mercy of God at any stage of later life. In the Vedas also it is stated that such persons gradually sink to become dogs and hogs. It may be then argued in this connection that God should not be advertised as all-merciful if He is not merciful to such demons. In answer to this question, in the Vedānta-sūtra we find that the Supreme Lord has no hatred for anyone. The placing of the asuras, the demons, in the lowest status of life is simply another feature of His mercy. Sometimes the asuras are killed by the Supreme Lord, but this killing is also good for them, for in Vedic literature we find that anyone who is killed by the Supreme Lord becomes liberated. There are instances in history of many asuras – Rāvaṇa, Kaṁsa, Hiraṇyakaśipu – to whom the Lord appeared in various incarnations just to kill them. Therefore God’s mercy is shown to the asuras if they are fortunate enough to be killed by Him.
Not attaining Me, the asuras attain low births. However, those asuras in the form of Kaṁsa and others attained Me, Kṛṣṇa, who appeared at the end of Dvāpara-yuga in the twenty eighth cycle of Vaivasvata Manu’s reign. Though hating Me, they attained Me in the form of liberation. Because I am an ocean of mercy, I give even such sinful asuras liberation, which is only attained by the perfection of bhakti and jñāna. The Personified Vedas say: nibhṛta-marun-mano’kṣa dṛḍha-yoga-yujo hṛdi yan munaya upāsate tad-arayo’pi yayuḥ smaraṇāt Simply by constantly thinking of Him, the enemies of the Lord attained the same Supreme Truth whom sages fixed in yoga worship by controlling their breath, mind and senses. SB 10.87.23 This widens the scope of My supreme attractive position which I mentioned previously. But as the Bhagavatāmṛta Kārikā says: māṁ kṛṣṇa-rūpiṇaṁ yāvan nāpnuvanti mama dviṣaḥ tāvad evādhamaṁ yoniṁ prāpnuvantīti hi sphuṭam In as much as those who hate Me do not attain Me in My form as Kṛṣṇa, it is clear that they attain the lowest births.
“Will those born in the wombs of asuras become liberated at some time by Your mercy, after many births?” These fools, having been born in ḍemonic wombs, not attaining Me at all, proceed to the wombs of the lowest creatures like dogs. Use of the word eva after aprāpya indicates that there is no possibility for them to get My mercy. A good birth suitable for practicing attaining the Lord is very rare (what to speak of this low birth). The śruti also says: atha kapūya-caraṇā abhyāso ha yat te kapūyāṁ yonim āpadyeran śva-yoniṁ vā śūkara-yoniṁ vā caṇḍāla-yoniṁ vā Those of bad conduct attain low births, such as dogs, pigs and caṇḍālas. Chāndogya Upaniṣad 5.10.7 “But because You have the quality having all Your desires fulfilled (satya saṅkalpatva), You can make them qualified, even if they are so unqualified.” Anything is possible for the Lord, but though He could do this, He does not have that desire, since there is no good reason for Him to do that. Thus there is no fault of prejudice in the Lord. The author of the Vedānta says vaiṣyamya-niarghṛṇye na: there is no prejudice or hatred in the Lord. (Vedṇata Sūtras 2.1.35) Therefore these two verses are very appropriate. Those asauras described here who do not accept scripture are always shown to be inhabitants of hell. But those who become demons and kings obeident to demens by a curse, though showing externally hatred to the visible forms of Viṣṇū like Vāmana, Narasiṁha and Varāha, regarding them as enemies, are internally followers of the vedic path, and consider Him to be the Supreme Lord the controller of all, in control of time, beyond their material vision. Being killed by Vāmana and other incarnations, they give up the bodies of asuras . Those killed by Kṛṣṇa attain liberation. These persons are not opposers of the Vedas.
Fate of demoniac – They glide down to hell
(a) “Never attain Me” – explained as follows:
(b) What is the hope for them because God is supposed to be all Merciful:
E.g. Ravana, Kamsa, etc.
(a) PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Nothing is accidental – This verse clearly indicates that placing of a
particular soul in a particular body is the prerogative of the Supreme Will
(b) Fate of Demoniac
SUMMARISED THEME 16B
A) Demonaic qualities (16.4)
1. Pride
2. Anger
3. Arrogance
4. Conceit
5. Harshness
6. Ignorance
B) Demoniac nature (16.7)
C) Demonaic philosophy (16.8)
D) Demoniac attitude and engagements (16.9 & 16.11 – 16.12)
E) Demoniac mentality (16.10 & 16.13 – 16.15)
F) Result of demonaic work (16.16)
G) Demoniac preachings (16.17 – 16.18)
H) Fate of demonaic (16.19 – 16.20)
16.20 असुरीम् demoniacal? योनिम् womb? आपन्नाः entering into? मूढाः deluded? जन्मनि जन्मनि in birth after birth? माम् Me? अप्राप्य not attaining? एव still? कौन्तेय O son of Kunti (Arjuna)? ततः than that? यान्ति (they) fall into? अधमाम् lower? गतिम् condition (path or goal).Commentary These degraded Asuras are cast into the demoniacal wombs. They are reduced to the very lowest condition or the most appalling state. They are cast into utter darkness. They fall into lower and yet lower wombs in response to their own satanic desires and actions and their extreme Tamasic nature. From the birth of a tiger? they will get the birth of a serpent from a serpents they will get the birth of a wormfrom that they will get the birth of a tree? etc. In Sanskrit the suffix Tara denotes comparative degree and Tama is superlative degree. These people get Nikrishtatama Yonis (the lowest wombs).They do not reach Me as their minds are filled with impurities? as they do not tread the path of righteousness in accordance with the injunctions of the scriptures. The diabolical nature is inimical to spiritual progress. Therefore? you will have to annihilate the evil tendencies by cultivating divine alities and the practice of regular meditation. Then and only then will you attain liberation.
A stone dropped into deep water sinks not by malice of the water but by its own density. Each lifetime of demoniac choice adds weight; the soul sinks further, never approaching Kṛṣṇa because it has loaded itself away from Him. Gravity, not punishment, is the verse's grammar.
King Vena, the son of Aṅga, was demoniac from birth. The sages crowned him in hope of correction; he forbade sacrifice and demanded worship of himself alone. When the sages killed him with the force of their mantra, his body was churned for any salvageable element — Pṛthu emerged from one arm — but the rest, the demoniac substance, descended to lower wombs.
The Bhāgavatam treats Vena as the textbook of janmani janmani — birth after birth — sinking through the very route the verse describes.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| त्रि-विधम् | tri-vidham | त्रि + विध (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n., karmadhāraya cpd. (compound) | of three kinds, threefold |
| नरकस्य | narakasya | नरक (m.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) | of hell |
| इदम् | idam | इदम् pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. | this |
| द्वारम् | dvāram | द्वार (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | door, gate |
| नाशनम् | nāśanam | नाशन (adj./n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. | destructive, ruinous |
| आत्मनः | ātmanaḥ | आत्मन् (m.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) | of the self |
| कामः | kāmaḥ | काम (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | lust, sense-desire |
| क्रोधः | krodhaḥ | क्रोध (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | anger |
| तथा | tathā | ind. (indeclinable) | and likewise |
| लोभः | lobhaḥ | लोभ (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | greed |
| तस्मात् | tasmāt | तद् pron. (pronoun) abl.sg. (ablative singular)n. | therefore |
| एतत् | etat | एतद् pron. (pronoun) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n. | this |
| त्रयम् | trayam | त्रय (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | triad, three |
| त्यजेत् | tyajet | √त्यज् opt. (optative) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | one should give up |
The beginning of demoniac life is described herein. One tries to satisfy his lust, and when he cannot, anger and greed arise. A sane man who does not want to glide down to the species of demoniac life must try to give up these three enemies, which can kill the self to such an extent that there will be no possibility of liberation from this material entanglement.
Thus the Lord has described the nature of the asura in detail. The Lord has also correctly said, “Do not worry, O Arjuna, you are born of the divine nature.” (BG 16.5) To confirm that this is true, He then says that there are indeed three inborn tendencies of the asuras in this verse.
“Who should men do who, hearing that the demonic nature leads to hell, desire to avoid that nature?” This verse answers. If they avoid these three things—lust, anger and greed—they can avoid the demonic nature.
Kṛṣṇa orders every sane person to give up lust, anger and greed. Those qualities are so vicious that even one
possessing a divine nature should fear them. For a man, a woman personifies kāma, lust, because she is able
to gratify all his sense desires. When kāma is unsatisfied, krodha, anger, is born. Anger is very difficult to con-
trol.
Krodha appears only when our desires are checked, but what if we are able to satisfy our desires without
hindrance? Do we then become peaceful? No. We are filled with lobha, greed. Greed gives birth to moha,
illusion, and loss of discrimination. Next comes mada, the intoxication of pride. The mixture of these five,
envy, matsara, is able to manifest fully. Thus all these demoniac qualities are rooted in lust.
16.21 त्रिविधम् triple? नरकस्य of hell? इदम् this? द्वारम् gate? नाशनम् destructive? आत्मनः of the self? कामः lust? क्रोधः anger? तथा also? लोभः greed? तस्मात् therefore? एतत् this? त्रयम् three? त्यजेत् (one) should abandon.Commentary Lust? anger and greed? -- these highway robbers will cause a man to fall into the dark abyss of hell? misery or grief. These are the three fountainheads of misery. These three constitute the gateway leading to the lowest of hells. These are the enemies of peace? devotion and knowledge. When these evil modifications of the mind arise in it? man loses his balance or poise and discrimination and commits various evil actions.Lust? anger and greed denote selfblindness and ignorance? for there are no Vasanas? wants? anger? or greed in Brahman or the pure immortal Self.Narakasya dvaram The gate to hell The gate leading to hell. The self is destroyed by merely entering at the gate? i.e.? it is not fit to do any right exertion to attain the goal of life.As this gate causes selfdestruction? let everyone renounce these three. (Cf.III.47)In the next verse the man who has abandoned these three evils is highyl eulogised.
A city with three gates that all open onto the same cliff. Kāma, krodha, lobha — lust, anger, greed — are not three problems but three doors of one prison. Close any one and the others still let traffic through. Kṛṣṇa says: every sane person must close all three.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra knew his son was wrong. Vidura, Bhīṣma, Droṇa, even Kṛṣṇa Himself counseled him. Yet each time he had to choose between dharma and the kingdom for Duryodhana, lobha — greed for the throne staying in his line — closed his lips and opened the path to war.
The Mahābhārata makes him the verse's case study for lobha as a gate to hell. He survived the war; his blindness, originally physical, became total in the loss of all hundred sons. The gate let him through to exactly where it was always going to.
Ambarīṣa, a great devotee, was completing his ekādaśī fast when the sage Durvāsā arrived as guest. Durvāsā left to bathe; the dvādaśī moment came and Ambarīṣa, instructed by brāhmaṇas, broke fast with a sip of water — half-respecting Durvāsā by waiting, half-respecting scripture by drinking on time.
Durvāsā's krodha at this perceived slight was immense. He pulled a hair from his matted locks and created a flame-demoness to kill Ambarīṣa. The Sudarśana cakra of Viṣṇu — protector of devotees — pursued Durvāsā instead, through every realm, for a year. Brahmā, Śiva, Viṣṇu Himself sent the sage back to beg pardon of Ambarīṣa.
The Bhāgavatam preserves the episode as scripture's clearest demonstration that anger, even in a great yogī, is a gate that opens onto disaster — and that the devotee's protection is the only thing that closes it again.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| एतैः | etaiḥ | एतद् pron. (pronoun) ins.pl. (instrumental plural)n. | from these |
| विमुक्तः | vimuktaḥ | वि + √मुच् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | released, freed |
| कौन्तेय | kaunteya | कौन्तेय (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular) | O son of Kuntī |
| तमः-द्वारैः | tamaḥ-dvāraiḥ | तमस् (n.) + द्वार (n.) ins.pl. (instrumental plural), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | gates of darkness / tamas |
| त्रिभिः | tribhiḥ | त्रि numeral, ins.pl. (instrumental plural) | three |
| नरः | naraḥ | नर (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | a man, person |
| आचरति | ācarati | आ + √चर् pres. (present) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | he practices, conducts (himself in) |
| आत्मनः | ātmanaḥ | आत्मन् (m.) gen.sg. (genitive singular) | of the self |
| श्रेयः | śreyaḥ | श्रेयस् (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), compar. (comparative) of शुभ | (what is) beneficial, the higher good |
| ततः | tataḥ | ind. (indeclinable) | thence |
| याति | yāti | √या pres. (present) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | he goes |
| पराम् | parām | पर (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)f. | supreme |
| गतिम् | gatim | गति (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | destination |
One should be very careful of these three enemies to human life: lust, anger and greed. The more a person is freed from lust, anger and greed, the more his existence becomes pure. Then he can follow the rules and regulations enjoined in the Vedic literature. By following the regulative principles of human life, one gradually raises himself to the platform of spiritual realization. If one is so fortunate, by such practice, to rise to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then success is guaranteed for him. In the Vedic literature, the ways of action and reaction are prescribed to enable one to come to the stage of purification. The whole method is based on giving up lust, greed and anger. By cultivating knowledge of this process, one can be elevated to the highest position of self-realization; this self-realization is perfected in devotional service. In that devotional service, the liberation of the conditioned soul is guaranteed. Therefore, according to the Vedic system, there are instituted the four orders of life and the four statuses of life, called the caste system and the spiritual order system. There are different rules and regulations for different castes or divisions of society, and if a person is able to follow them, he will be automatically raised to the highest platform of spiritual realization. Then he can have liberation without a doubt.
The result of giving up these three items is described in this verse. He performs the most beneficial practices, which are actions according to his āśrama, and attains liberation (parām gatim).
While transmigrating in the tree of this material world we have some choices in human life: whether one wants to go up or he wants to go down. Krsna has given us this choice. If we walk through the gates leading to hell, Krsna gives us directions. But for a sane man Krsna advises to give up those gates leading to hell: lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give them up. Contemporary civilization being demoniac cultivate lust and greed. And how to perform acts conducive to self‑realization?
[2. To obtain that supreme destination, one's activities should all be in accord with sastra. (23‑24) ]
16.22 एतैः from these? विमुक्तः liberated? कौन्तेय O Kaunteya? तमोद्वारैः gates to darkness? त्रिभिः (by) three? नरः the man? आचरति practises? आत्मनः for him? श्रेयः what is good? ततः and then? याति goes to? पराम् the Supreme? गतिम् Goal.Commentary When these gates to hell are abandoned? the path to salvation is made clear for the aspirant. He gets the company of sages? which leads to liberation. He gets spiritual instructions and practises them. He hears the scriptures? reflects? meditates and attains Selfrealisation.Tamodvara Gate to darkness leading to hell which is full of pain and delusion.
A traveler who escapes a thorn-thicket walks more freely the rest of the journey. He may not yet be home, but every step now serves arrival. Once the three gates are closed behind him, ordinary action becomes śreyas — a means of self-elevation — automatically.
Having renounced his kingdom and family, Bharata in the Bhāgavatam shows what life looks like after the three gates are shut. He performed worship by the riverbank, ate fallen fruit, kept silence. The verse describes him: vimuktaḥ — liberated from these — and now ācarati ātmanaḥ śreyaḥ — performing acts conducive to self-realization.
He did stumble — the attachment to a deer was an unanticipated knot — but the larger arc of his life is the verse's affirmation: once kāma, krodha, lobha are released, the supreme destination is gradually attained.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| यः | yaḥ | यद् pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | he who |
| शास्त्र-विधिम् | śāstra-vidhim | शास्त्र (n.) + विधि (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | the rule / injunction of scripture |
| उत्सृज्य | utsṛjya | उद् + √सृज् abs. (absolutive) | having cast off, abandoned |
| वर्तते | vartate | √वृत् pres. (present) 3sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) | he conducts (himself), proceeds |
| काम-कारतः | kāma-kārataḥ | काम (m.) + कार (m.) abl.sg. (ablative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | out of (mere) impulse of desire |
| न | na | ind. (negation) | not |
| सः | saḥ | तद् pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. | he |
| सिद्धिम् | siddhim | सिद्धि (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | perfection, accomplishment |
| अवाप्नोति | avāpnoti | अव + √आप् pres. (present) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | he attains, obtains |
| सुखम् | sukham | सुख (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | happiness |
| पराम् | parām | पर (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)f. | supreme |
| गतिम् | gatim | गति (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | destination |
As described before, the śāstra-vidhi, or the direction of the śāstra, is given to the different castes and orders of human society. Everyone is expected to follow these rules and regulations. If one does not follow them and acts whimsically according to his lust, greed and desire, then he never will be perfect in his life. In other words, a man may theoretically know all these things, but if he does not apply them in his own life, then he is to be known as the lowest of mankind. In the human form of life, a living entity is expected to be sane and to follow the regulations given for elevating his life to the highest platform, but if he does not follow them, then he degrades himself. But even if he follows the rules and regulations and moral principles and ultimately does not come to the stage of understanding the Supreme Lord, then all his knowledge becomes spoiled. And even if he accepts the existence of God, if he does not engage himself in the service of the Lord his attempts are spoiled. Therefore one should gradually raise himself to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service; it is then and there that he can attain the highest perfectional stage, not otherwise. The word kāma-kārataḥ is very significant. A person who knowingly violates the rules acts in lust. He knows that this is forbidden, but still he acts. This is called acting whimsically. He knows that this should be done, but still he does not do it; therefore he is called whimsical. Such persons are destined to be condemned by the Supreme Lord. Such persons cannot have the perfection which is meant for the human life. The human life is especially meant for purifying one’s existence, and one who does not follow the rules and regulations cannot purify himself, nor can he attain the real stage of happiness.
In this verse the Lord expresses that it is beneficial for a person to follow the scriptures. He speaks of the person who does not follow scripture, and does whatever he wants (kāma-kārataḥ).
One cannot give up the three gates to hell without practice of ones own dharma or aśrāma. And practicing ones own dharma can not be properly fulfilled without following scripture. Therefore the intelligent person should act according to scripture. He who acts according to his own preferences (kāma cārataḥ), and does not follow prescribed actions, and actually does what is forbidden by scripture, does not attain purification of heart (siddhim), necessary for attaining the goal of life. What then to speak of attaining peacefulness (sukham) or liberation (parām gatim)?
Here the contrast is set up. Starting with the demoniac and Krsna's advises to perform acts beneficial that will elevate us to the supreme destination ...
COMMON THEME: These two verses establish the importance of sastric injunctions
(a) What does sastra-viddhi refer to – It refers to ‘direction of sastras’ as follows:
(b) Purpose of scriptural rules – Rules are meant for gradual elevation to higher perfectional stage of
devotional service
(c) Meaning of ‘Kama-kartah’ – defines “acting whimsically”
(d) Destination of “whimsical acts”
(a) Highest perfection of Vedic knowledge – knowing Krishna (Ref. 15.15) and engaging in devotional
service
(b) Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu on how to achieve the highest perfection very easily
(c) What status one achieves by the above process of devotional service
(d) How to purify those not engaged in devotional service
(e) Standard of Vedic Scriptures which make them unquestionable
(f) Aversion to the principles of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the greatest
offense of human life
(g) Principles of scriptures are a must to achieve perfectional stage
(h) Some of defects of human society which cause demoniac life
(i) How to elevate and why to elevate
Bhagavad Gita Notes
Selected Texts extracted from “Surrender unto Me”
16.23 यः who? शास्त्रविधिम् the ordinance of the scriptures? उत्सृज्य having cast aside? वर्तते acts? कामकारतः under the impulse of desire? न not? सः he? सिद्धिम् perfection? अवाप्नोति attains? न not? सुखम् happiness? न not? पराम् Supreme? गतिम् Goal.Commentary He who does not care for the Self? who gives free rein to these three sins? is a traitor to the Self. He who has renounced the authority of the Vedas which? like a mother? is eally disposed and kind to all? and which? like a beaconlight? points out what is good and what is evil? does not attain perfection nor happiness nor the Supreme Goal. He who pays no attention to prescribed actions and follows the promptings of desire awakened by the senses? does not obtain God.
A sailor who throws away the chart and steers by whatever cloud looks pretty. Each cloud different; each course wrong. The śāstra is the chart; whim is the cloud. The demoniac of this verse have shipwrecked themselves long before they reach any shore.
The Bhāgavatam tells of the sage Saubhari, advanced in tapas, who decided on his own to marry — outside the scripture's recommendation for his life-stage. He multiplied his body fifty times, married fifty princesses, raised palaces and progeny.
Years later, looking at his teeming household, he realized that abandoning the scriptural pattern of his āśrama had cost him exactly what this verse names: siddhi, sukha, parā gati. He returned to forest renunciation, but only after wasted time. The verse's diagnosis is exact: kāma-kārataḥ — acting from desire — yields none of the three.
Source: vedabase.io
| Sanskrit | IAST | Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| तस्मात् | tasmāt | तद् pron. (pronoun) abl.sg. (ablative singular)n. | therefore |
| शास्त्रम् | śāstram | शास्त्र (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | scripture, śāstra |
| प्रमाणम् | pramāṇam | प्रमाण (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) | authority, valid means of knowing |
| ते | te | अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) gen./dat.sg. (dative singular) | for you |
| कार्य-अकार्य-व्यवस्थितौ | kārya-akārya-vyavasthitau | कार्य (n.) + अकार्य (n.) + व्यवस्थिति (f.) loc.sg. (locative singular), dvandva + tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | in (the matter of) determining what should and should not be done |
| ज्ञात्वा | jñātvā | √ज्ञा abs. (absolutive) | having known |
| शास्त्र-विधान-उक्तम् | śāstra-vidhāna-uktam | शास्त्र (n.) + विधान (n.) + उक्त p.p.p. (past passive participle) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n., tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) | declared by the regulation of scripture |
| कर्म | karma | कर्मन् (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) | action, work |
| कर्तुम् | kartum | √कृ inf. (infinitive) | to do, perform |
| इह | iha | ind. (indeclinable) | here (in this world) |
| अर्हसि | arhasi | √अर्ह् pres. (present) 2sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) | you ought, you are fit |
As stated in the Fifteenth Chapter, all the rules and regulations of the Vedas are meant for knowing Kṛṣṇa. If one understands Kṛṣṇa from the Bhagavad-gītā and becomes situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, engaging himself in devotional service, he has reached the highest perfection of knowledge offered by the Vedic literature. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu made this process very easy: He asked people simply to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare and to engage in the devotional service of the Lord and eat the remnants of foodstuff offered to the Deity. One who is directly engaged in all these devotional activities is to be understood as having studied all Vedic literature. He has come to the conclusion perfectly. Of course, for the ordinary persons who are not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness or who are not engaged in devotional service, what is to be done and what is not to be done must be decided by the injunctions of the Vedas . One should act accordingly, without argument. That is called following the principles of śāstra, or scripture. Śāstra is without the four principal defects that are visible in the conditioned soul: imperfect senses, the propensity for cheating, certainty of committing mistakes, and certainty of being illusioned. These four principal defects in conditioned life disqualify one from putting forth rules and regulations. Therefore, the rules and regulations as described in the śāstra – being above these defects – are accepted without alteration by all great saints, ācāryas and great souls. In India there are many parties of spiritual understanding, generally classified as two: the impersonalist and the personalist. Both of them, however, lead their lives according to the principles of the Vedas . Without following the principles of the scriptures, one cannot elevate himself to the perfectional stage. One who actually, therefore, understands the purport of the śāstras is considered fortunate. In human society, aversion to the principles of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all falldowns. That is the greatest offense of human life. Therefore, māyā, the material energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always giving us trouble in the shape of the threefold miseries. This material energy is constituted of the three modes of material nature. One has to raise himself at least to the mode of goodness before the path to understanding the Supreme Lord can be opened. Without raising oneself to the standard of the mode of goodness, one remains in ignorance and passion, which are the cause of demoniac life. Those in the modes of passion and ignorance deride the scriptures, deride the holy man, and deride the proper understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They disobey the instructions of the spiritual master, and they do not care for the regulations of the scriptures. In spite of hearing the glories of devotional service, they are not attracted. Thus they manufacture their own way of elevation. These are some of the defects of human society which lead to the demoniac status of life. If, however, one is able to be guided by a proper and bona fide spiritual master, who can lead one to the path of elevation, to the higher stage, then one’s life becomes successful. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Sixteenth Chapter of the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā in the matter of the Divine and Demoniac Natures.
This chapter has described how those who follow the scripture attain the supreme goal and those who do not follow scripture go to hell. Thus the commentaries on the sixteenth chapter of the Gītā have been completed for the pleasure of the devotees’ hearts, by the mercy of the ācāryas.
Since the tendency for lust, anger and greed which are contrary to scripture deviate one from the goal of life, scripture in the form of the Vedas, which is perfect, not being written by man, is the authority in matters of what to do and what not to do (pramāṇam). The statements composed by men who are subject to faults such as error [Note: The four faults are bhrama (error), karaṇa pātava (limitation of the senses), pramāda (inattention), and vipralipsā (cheating).] are not authority. Thus the positive and negative injunctions of scripture to do or not do certain things (vidhāna uktam) are stated using the potential mood (you should do this) or with the suffix tavya after a verb (which also means “should do”). Knowing about the prescribed and forbidden actions, you should perform prescribed actions such as fighting and sacrifices in this world of karma (iha), for teaching people, avoiding the forbidden actions. Those fixed in understanding the meaning of the Vedas go to svarga and eternal liberation. Those who reject the Vedas go to hell. This is the conclusion of the sixteenth chapter. Chapter 17
Whatever position one is, he should give up lust and greed and he should act accordingly to the rules and regulations of the sastras. This is the basic distinction between divine and demoniac existence ‑ the acceptance of the sastras, and a accordingly. The demoniac are by nature whimsical: 'I do what I want. I am God!'. That is the basic demoniac mentality. The basic devotee mentallity is:' I am surrendered to higher authority, Krsna!'
COMMON THEME: These two verses establish the importance of sastric injunctions
(a) What does sastra-viddhi refer to – It refers to ‘direction of sastras’ as follows:
(b) Purpose of scriptural rules – Rules are meant for gradual elevation to higher perfectional stage of
devotional service
(c) Meaning of ‘Kama-kartah’ – defines “acting whimsically”
(d) Destination of “whimsical acts”
(a) Highest perfection of Vedic knowledge – knowing Krishna (Ref. 15.15) and engaging in devotional
service
(b) Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu on how to achieve the highest perfection very easily
(c) What status one achieves by the above process of devotional service
(d) How to purify those not engaged in devotional service
(e) Standard of Vedic Scriptures which make them unquestionable
(f) Aversion to the principles of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the greatest
offense of human life
(g) Principles of scriptures are a must to achieve perfectional stage
(h) Some of defects of human society which cause demoniac life
(i) How to elevate and why to elevate
Bhagavad Gita Notes
Selected Texts extracted from “Surrender unto Me”
16.24 तस्मात् therefore? शास्त्रम् scripture? प्रमाणम् (be) authority? ते they? कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ in determining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done? ज्ञात्वा having known? शास्त्रविधानोक्तम् what is said in the ordinance of the scriptures? कर्म action? कर्तुम् to do? इह here (in this world)? अर्हसि shouldst.Commentary He who desires the welfare of the Self should not disregard the ?nds of the scriptures. A man who is anxious to obtain eternal bliss should respect the Vedas and the Smritis which lay down the code of right conduct. He should readily renounce whatever the scriptures teach him to abandon and accept whatever he is directed to accept.He who is thus entirely devoted to the Vedas cannot meet with misfortune? grief or delusion. No mother is more kind than the scriptures for they restrain us from doing evil and bestow on us the greatest good (liberation or Moksha). Therefore treat the scriptures with great respect. Renounce all that the scriptures prohibit. Whatever is worthy of being done? that thou shouldst do thoroughly with all thy heart and all thy strength.Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita? the science of the Eternal? the scripture of Yoga? the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna? ends the sixteenth discourse entitledThe Yoga of the Division BetweenThe Divine and the Demoniacal. ,
A compass placed in the hand of one who is about to travel. The compass does not walk for you; it tells you where north is. Kṛṣṇa places śāstra in Arjuna's hand and says: hold this, and act. The chapter ends not with prohibition but with a tool.
Cursed to die in seven days, Parīkṣit did not consult his own preferences about how to spend them. He sat at the bank of the Gaṅgā and asked the assembled sages: what does śāstra say a person facing death should do? The answer came through Śukadeva Gosvāmī as the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself.
The verse's instruction — jñātvā śāstra-vidhāna-uktam karma kartum iha arhasi — appears in his life as a finished pattern. He knew the scripture's instruction, he then performed the action prescribed (śravaṇa), and he attained the supreme destination at the end of the seventh day.
By chapter 16's close, the Gītā has placed Arjuna at exactly the position this verse names. Two more chapters remain. The seventeenth will analyze the modes within scriptural conduct; the eighteenth will resolve everything in the call to surrender. But this verse is the operating instruction the disciple must hold across all that follows.
When Arjuna finally says karyiṣye vacanaṁ tava (18.73) — 'I shall act on Your word' — he is doing exactly what 16.24 prescribes. The chapter on the demoniac ends with the only weapon against it: the disciple's act of taking scripture as pramāṇa.
Source: vedabase.io