Bhagavad Gita 10.4
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 4 of 42
बुद्धिर्ज्ञानमसम्मोहः क्षमा सत्यं दमः शमः | सुखं दुःखं भवोऽभावो भयं चाभयमेव च ||४||
buddhir jñānam asaṃmohaḥ kṣamā satyaṃ damaḥ śamaḥ | sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ bhavo'bhāvo bhayaṃ cābhayam eva ca || 4 ||
Intellect, wisdom, patience, truth, calm, restraint, joy, pain, birth, death, fear, fearlessness — all arise from Me.
Word by word (3)
- buddhi jñāna asaṃmoha kṣamā satya dama śama
- — Intelligence, wisdom, non-delusion, patience/forgiveness, truth, self-restraint, calmness · buddhi = intelligence, discernment (from √budh = to be awake, to understand; buddhi = 'the faculty of discernment, the discriminating intelligence' — the faculty that distinguishes the real from the unreal; one of the higher mental faculties in Sānkhya psychology: buddhi > manas > ahaṃkāra). jñāna = wisdom, knowledge (from √jñā = to know; jñāna = 'the faculty of knowing, spiritual wisdom' — distinguished from buddhi: buddhi is the discerning faculty; jñāna is the content of the knowing). asaṃmoha = non-delusion (a = not; saṃmoha = delusion, confusion — from √muh; asaṃmoha = 'freedom from confusion/delusion' — the same as V3's asaṃmūḍha). kṣamā = patience, forgiveness (from √kṣam = to be patient, to endure; kṣamā = 'patience, forbearance, forgiveness'). satya = truth (from √sat = to be, to be real; satya = 'truth, truthfulness' — what is real, what corresponds to reality). dama = self-restraint (external, of the senses and body — from √dam = to tame, to restrain; dama = 'restraint, self-control of the outer faculties'). śama = calmness, mental quietude (inner, of the mind — from √śam = to be peaceful; śama = 'mental equanimity, quietness of mind' — the inner complement to dama's outer restraint). Note: dama (outer) + śama (inner) together = the complete self-discipline.
- sukha duḥkha bhava abhāva bhaya ca abhayam eva ca
- — Happiness and pain, birth/existence and non-existence, fear and fearlessness · sukham = happiness, pleasure (from √suc → √suk; sukha = 'ease, happiness, pleasure'). duḥkham = pain, suffering (dus + kha = 'bad axle-hole'; duḥkha = 'pain, suffering, dissatisfaction'). bhava = existence, birth, being (from √bhū = to be; bhava = 'becoming, birth, existence, arising'). abhāva = non-existence, non-being, death (a = not; bhāva = existence; abhāva = 'non-being, non-existence, absence, death/dissolution'). bhaya = fear (from √bhī = to fear; bhaya = 'fear, danger'). ca = and. abhayam = fearlessness (a = not; bhaya = fear; abhayam = 'fearlessness'). eva = indeed (emphatic). ca = and. V4's second half: sukha/duḥkha/bhava/abhāva/bhaya/abhaya — these are six of the fundamental polarities of embodied existence. The verse lists both poles of each polarity (happiness AND pain; existence AND non-existence; fear AND fearlessness). The claim that follows in V5 (matta eva — from Me alone) means that BOTH poles of each pair arise from the divine: not just the positive (happiness, existence, fearlessness) but also the negative (pain, non-existence, fear). This is Ch.10's most theologically daring claim in V4-V5: the entire experiential spectrum of embodied life — including its most painful and fearful elements — arises from the divine.
- V4's 13 conditions: the complete inner quality spectrum from virtue to experience
- — V4 lists 13 conditions of being in two groups: inner virtues (buddhi through śama) and fundamental experiential polarities (sukha through abhaya) — all to be completed in V5 with the claim 'these arise from Me alone' · V4-V5 together form one complete teaching unit listing 20 conditions of being (V4's 13 + V5's 7 more). The list has an internal structure: V4 starts with the highest faculties (buddhi = discernment; jñāna = wisdom) moves through virtuous qualities (asaṃmoha/kṣamā/satya/dama/śama) then to fundamental experiential conditions (sukha/duḥkha/bhava/abhāva/bhaya/abhaya). V5 will complete the list with non-injury/equanimity/contentment/austerity/charity/fame/infamy. The totality: from the highest spiritual faculty (buddhi) to the most mundane social condition (fame/infamy) — ALL arise from the divine. This is the Gita's most comprehensive divine-origin statement for the internal/experiential domain. Compare with V10.20-V42 which will do the same for the external/natural domain: everything from Viṣṇu to dice, from the Himalayas to wily stratagem. Together V4-V5 (internal spectrum) + V10.20-V42 (external spectrum) = Ch.10's complete vibhūti-sarvam (everything is My vibhūti).
Intelligence, wisdom, freedom from delusion, patience, truth, self-restraint, calm, pleasure and pain, birth and death, fear and fearlessness —
A modern analogy
A musical scale includes both the consonant intervals (joy, beauty) and the dissonant ones (tension, pain). Both arise from the same underlying musical structure — one doesn't exist without the other. This verse and the next say the same about human experience: intelligence and its absence, fearlessness and fear, fame and infamy — all are notes on the divine's experiential scale. The divine is the scale itself, not just the pleasant notes.
What it does NOT mean
This verse's listing of pain (duḥkha), death (abhāva), and fear (bhaya) as arising from the divine does not mean the divine causes suffering or is responsible for evil. It means the capacity for these experiences — the structures of consciousness that make pain, death-experience, and fear possible — arise from the same ground as their opposites. The divine is the ground of ALL experience (both poles), not just the pleasant half. This is not theodicy but ontology: the divine IS the complete experiential field.
Take with you
- This verse's buddhi (intellect) and jñāna (wisdom) are divine gifts: when you experience clarity of understanding or a moment of genuine wisdom, the verse's teaching is that this is a manifestation of the divine in you. The intelligence you use to understand this verse IS the divine's intellect-gift manifesting. This teaches gratitude for cognitive gifts and humility: your intelligence is not your own production — it arises from the same ground.
- This verse's kṣamā (patience and forgiveness) is a divine condition: kṣamā is listed between satya (truth) and dama (self-restraint) as one of the divine's conditions of being. When you practice patience or forgiveness, the verse suggests you are expressing a quality that arises from the divine ground — you are, in that moment, manifesting a divine quality. This reframes difficult inner work: patience is not just your effort; it is a divine quality you are channeling.
- This verse's sukha-duḥkha (joy and pain) are both divine: the hardest teaching here is that pain (duḥkham) and fear (bhayam) also arise from the divine. Practice: when in pain or fear, hold the recognition 'this arises from the same ground as joy and fearlessness.' Not as a way of minimizing the pain but as a way of seeing it in the full spectrum rather than as something alien or wrong.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
[SW V4 missing from index] — Intelligence, wisdom, non-delusion, forgiveness, truth, self-restraint, calmness, happiness, pain, birth, death, fear and fearlessness also; [4]
Subtle perception, spiritual knowledge, right judgment, patience, truth, self-mastery; pleasure and pain, prosperity and adversity; birth and death, danger and security, fear and equanimity... [6]
Intellect, skill, enlightenment, endurance, self-control, / Truthfulness, equability, and grief or joy of soul, / And birth and death, and fearfulness, and fearlessness... [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame and infamy — these varied states arise from Me alone.
Daivī wealth begins: abhaya, sattva-śuddhi, jñāna-yoga, dāna, dama, yajña, svādhyāya, tapa, ārjava.
The person unmoved by pleasure and pain is fit for liberation — equanimity is not coldness but freedom.
Abandon all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone — I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
Those who know Me as Adhibhūta, Adhidaiva, and Adhiyajña — they know Me even at death, with unified minds.
Verse 4 of 42 · back to Chapter 10