Bhagavad Gita 16.1
Spoken by Krishna ☆ Key verse · Verse 1 of 24
अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर् ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः । दानं दमश् च यज्ञश् च स्वाध्यायस् तप आर्जवम् ॥
abhayaṃ sattva-saṃśuddhir jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ | dānaṃ damaś ca yajñaś ca svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam ||
Daivī wealth begins: abhaya, sattva-śuddhi, jñāna-yoga, dāna, dama, yajña, svādhyāya, tapa, ārjava.
Word by word (3)
- abhayaṃ sattva-saṃśuddhiḥ jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ
- — abhaya (fearlessness) — the root of all daivī qualities; sattva-saṃśuddhi (purification of inner nature/being); jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ (steadfastness/establishment in knowledge-yoga)
- dānaṃ damaś ca yajñaś ca
- — dāna (giving/charity), dama (self-control/restraint of senses), yajña (sacrifice/worship) — the triad of outer-facing virtues
- svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam
- — svādhyāya (self-study/Vedic recitation), tapa (austerity/discipline), ārjava (straightforwardness/integrity) — inner-practice triad
Fearlessness, purity of being, steadfastness in knowledge-yoga, charity, self-control, sacrifice, scripture-study, austerity, uprightness;
A modern analogy
A strong structure needs a good foundation. Abhaya is the foundation of the daivī mansion — every other virtue rests on fearlessness. A fearful mind cannot be truly generous (dāna), cannot be truly restrained (dama), cannot be truly honest (ārjava). The daivī qualities are not random virtues but an integrated architecture.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
MISSING — SH Ch.16 V1 not indexed; Ganguli and Telang used as primary. [1]
Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and Yoga; almsgiving, control of the senses, Yajna, reading of the Shastras, austerity, uprightness; [4]
Fearlessness, purity of heart, perseverance in the yoga of knowledge, gifts, self-restraint, sacrifice, study of the scriptures, austerity, uprightness; [9]
Fearlessness, purity of heart, perseverance in the pursuit of knowledge and Yoga meditation, gifts, self-restraint, sacrifice, study of the Vedas, ascetic penances, uprightness; [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Many, freed from attachment, fear, and anger, purified by knowledge-austerity — have attained My being.
Rājasic buddhi: imperfectly/wrongly discerns dharma-adharma and kārya-akārya — not as they really are.
Tāmasic buddhi: enveloped in darkness, sees adharma as dharma, all things inverted and perverted.
The tattva-vit sees gunas moving among gunas and does not become attached. Knowledge itself produces liberation.
Krishna reopens with the supreme jñāna above all knowledge — knowing which every muni has reached parāṃ siddhim.
Those who resort to this knowledge attain My own nature — neither reborn at creation nor disturbed at dissolution.
Verse 1 of 24 · back to Chapter 16