Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verse 4

Chapter 10 – Vibhuti Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

बुद्धिर्ज्ञानमसम्मोहः क्षमा सत्यं दमः शमः ।
सुखं दुःखं भवोऽभावो भयं चाभयमेव च ॥

Transliteration

buddhirjñānamasammohaḥ kṣamā satyaṃ damaḥ śamaḥ .
sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ bhavo.abhāvo bhayaṃ cābhayameva ca ॥

Meaning

Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses, calmness of mind, pleasure and pain, birth and death, fear and fearlessness, these arise from Me alone.

Word meanings

बुद्धिः – intelligence
ज्ञानम् – knowledge
असम्मोहः – freedom from delusion
क्षमा – forgiveness, patience
सत्यम् – truthfulness
दमः – control of the senses
शमः – tranquillity of mind
सुखम् – pleasure
दुःखम् – pain
भवः – coming into being
अभावः – ceasing to be
भयम् – fear
च – and
अभयम् – fearlessness
एव – also
च – and

Anvaya (word order)

बुद्धिः, ज्ञानम्, असम्मोहः, क्षमा, सत्यं, दमः, शमः, सुखं, दुःखं, भवः, अभावः, भयं च अभयम् एव च — (एते भावाः मत्तः एव भवन्ति) ।

Explanation

In this verse and the next Krishna lists twenty bhavas, states and qualities of the mind, and declares that all of them arise from Him. This is the first kind of vibhuti, not in outer objects but within ourselves.

The first three relate to understanding. Buddhi is the capacity to grasp subtle and profound matters. Jnana is discrimination between the Self and the not-Self. Asammoha is freedom from confusion, the ability to judge rightly in any situation. Then come ethical qualities. Kshama is forgiveness, letting no resentment arise even when insulted or hurt. Satya is truthfulness, speaking what one has seen and heard in a way that does good. Dama is restraint of the outer senses. Shama is calming of the inner mind.

Next come qualities in pairs of opposites: pleasure and pain, bhava and abhava (coming into being and ceasing to be), fear and fearlessness. It is striking that Krishna names even pain and fear as arising from Him. Shankara explains that these states arise in beings according to their own karma, but the power behind them is the Lord. Electricity is one, yet it runs both a fan and a heater.

The practical benefit of this insight is profound. If my intelligence, knowledge and forgiveness all come from God, there is no ground for pride in them. And if pain and fear too belong within His order, they can be accepted calmly.

Context

In verse 3 Krishna declared Himself unborn and Lord of the worlds. In this verse and the next He shows that all the inner states of beings arise from Him. The list concludes in verse 5, and in verse 6 He describes the origin of the seven sages and the Manus.

Life lesson

Whatever good qualities we possess, intelligence, forgiveness, truthfulness, restraint, are God’s gifts; so be grateful rather than proud. And accept life’s joys and sorrows, fears and courage, with equanimity, knowing they spring from the same source.

Key terms

Asammoha: freedom from delusion, clarity
Kshama: forgiveness, patience under hurt
Dama: restraint of the senses
Shama: tranquillity of mind
Bhava: a mental state or quality