Skip to main content
← Chapter 16: The Yoga of the Division between the Divine and Demoniac Natures

Verse 16.2

Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit

अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैशुनम् | दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम् ||२||

Transliteration (IAST)

ahiṁsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śāntir apaiśunam | dayā bhūteṣv aloluptvaṁ mārdavaṁ hrīr acāpalam ||2||

Word-by-Word Meanings

ahiṁsā-non-violence
satyam-truthfulness
akrodhaḥ-freedom from anger
tyāgaḥ-renunciation
śāntiḥ-peacefulness
apaiśunam-absence of fault-finding
dayā bhūteṣu-compassion toward beings
mārdavam-gentleness

Translation

Non-violence, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of fault-finding, compassion toward all beings, freedom from covetousness, gentleness, modesty, and absence of fickleness -

Commentary

Shankaracharya explains that ahiṁsā here means not causing suffering to any living being through thought, word, or deed. Madhva emphasizes that these qualities are not merely ethical virtues but spiritual attributes that reflect the soul's inherent divine nature. The list continues the enumeration of daivī sampad begun in verse 1.

Themes

dharmayoga