Bhagavad Gita 16.4
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 4 of 24
दम्भो दर्पो ऽभिमानश् च क्रोधः पारुष्यम् एव च । अज्ञानं चाभिजातस्य पार्थ सम्पदम् आसुरीम् ॥
dambho darpo 'bhimānaś ca krodhaḥ pāruṣyam eva ca | ajñānaṃ cābhijātasya pārtha sampadam āsurīm ||
Six āsurī qualities: dambha, darpa, abhimāna, krodha, pāruṣya, ajñāna — all rooted in ego-assertion and ignorance.
Word by word (3)
- dambho darpo 'bhimānaś ca
- — dambha (hypocrisy/ostentation — showing what one is not), darpa (arrogance/insolence — inflated self-opinion), abhimāna (conceit/ego-pride) — the ego-triad
- krodhaḥ pāruṣyam eva ca
- — krodha (anger), pāruṣya (harshness/cruelty in speech and action) — the behavioral triad that flows from the ego-triad
- ajñānaṃ cābhijātasya pārtha sampadam āsurīm
- — and ajñāna (ignorance — fundamental misperception of reality), belonging to one born (abhijātasya) to the demonic wealth (āsurī sampad), O Pārtha — ignorance as root-cause
Hypocrisy, arrogance, excessive self-conceit, anger, harshness, and ignorance — these belong to one born for the demonic nature, O Arjuna.
A modern analogy
Where the daivī qualities form a garden (diverse, nourishing, growing together), the āsurī qualities form a weed patch: dambha, darpa, abhimāna, krodha, pāruṣya are all variations of the same root-weed — ego-assertion — and ajñāna is the soil that keeps them thriving. Remove ajñāna (by jñāna-yoga, by daivī-sampad cultivation), and the weeds have no ground.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Ostentation, arrogance and self-conceit, anger as also insolence, and ignorance, belong to one who is born, O Partha, for a demoniac lot. [1]
Ostentation, arrogance, and self-conceit, anger as also harshness and ignorance, belong to one who is born, O Partha, for an Asurika state. [4]
Hypocrisy, arrogance, self-conceit, anger, also harshness and ignorance — these, O Arjuna, belong to one born to a demoniacal nature. [9]
Hypocrisy, pride, conceit, wrath, rudeness and ignorance become his, O Partha, who is born to demoniac possessions. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
When the seer sees only guṇas as agents and knows what is beyond them — he attains My being.
Releasing ego, power, arrogance, kāma, krodha, possessions — free from mine-ness, tranquil — fit for becoming Brahman.
Sitting as a neutral — unmoved by guṇas, knowing 'guṇas act' — firm, unshaken, the pure witness.
The ego-apex: 'I am rich, well-born — who equals me? I'll sacrifice, give, rejoice.' — all deluded by ajñāna.
The final daivī qualities: tejas, kṣamā, dhṛti, śauca, adroha, nātimānitā — belonging to one born to divine nature.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Verse 4 of 24 · back to Chapter 16