← Chapter 16: The Yoga of the Division between the Divine and Demoniac Natures

Verse 16.4

Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit

दम्भो दर्पोऽभिमानश्च क्रोधः पारुष्यमेव च | अज्ञानं चाभिजातस्य पार्थ सम्पदमासुरीम् ||४||

Transliteration (IAST)

dambho darpo 'bhimānaś ca krodhaḥ pāruṣyam eva ca | ajñānaṁ cābhijātasya pārtha sampadam āsurīm ||4||

Word-by-Word Meanings

dambhaḥ-hypocrisy

darpaḥ-arrogance

abhimānaḥ-conceit/pride

krodhaḥ-anger

pāruṣyam-harshness

ajñānam-ignorance

āsurīm sampadam-demoniac nature

abhijātasya-one who is born with

Translation

Hypocrisy, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness, and ignorance - these belong to one born with the demoniac nature, O Partha.

Commentary

Having described the divine qualities, Krishna now lists the demoniac qualities. Shankaracharya explains that dambha (hypocrisy) is the pretense of righteousness without actual virtue. Ramanuja notes the contrast: while divine qualities lead to liberation, these six demoniac qualities lead to bondage. The brevity of this list compared to the divine qualities suggests that evil is a distortion of the good, not an independent principle.

Themes

dharmakarma