Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16, Verse 3

Chapter 16 – Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

तेजः क्षमा धृतिः शौचमद्रोहो नातिमानिता ।
भवन्ति सम्पदं दैवीमभिजातस्य भारत ॥

Transliteration

tejaḥ kṣamā dhṛtiḥ śaucamadroho nātimānitā .
bhavanti sampadaṃ daivīmabhijātasya bhārata ॥

Meaning

Vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, freedom from malice and absence of excessive pride: these, O Bharata, belong to one born with the divine endowment.

Word meanings

तेजः – vigour, spiritual radiance
क्षमा – forgiveness, forbearance
धृतिः – fortitude, steadfastness
शौचम् – purity, outer and inner
अद्रोहः – freedom from malice
न अतिमानिता – absence of excessive pride
भवन्ति – are
सम्पदम् – endowment, wealth
दैवीम् – divine
अभिजातस्य – of one born with
भारत – O Bharata

Anvaya (word order)

भारत, तेजः, क्षमा, धृतिः, शौचम्, अद्रोहः, न अतिमानिता — (एतानि) दैवीं सम्पदम् अभिजातस्य भवन्ति ।

Explanation

This verse gives the last six qualities of the divine endowment, after which Krishna declares that all of these mark a person 'born with the divine endowment'.

Tejas is not physical glow but spiritual strength and moral authority, before which even the wicked hesitate. Strikingly, it is followed at once by kshama, forgiveness. The pairing is beautiful: the divine person forgives not out of weakness but while possessing real strength. Shankara explains forgiveness as keeping the mind free of disturbance even when one is insulted or injured.

Dhriti is fortitude, the inner strength that keeps a person from breaking when body and senses are exhausted or when calamity strikes. Shaucham is purity, outer (cleanliness of body, clothing, surroundings and food) and inner (a mind free from attachment, aversion and deceit). Adroha is the absence of any wish to harm others, holding no grudge against anyone.

Natimanita is not thinking of oneself as deserving great honour. This humility comes at the very end of the list, as if to guard all the other virtues. If a person possessed every virtue yet became proud of them, that pride itself would open the door to the demonic endowment (16.4).

Abhijatasya means 'of one who is born with'. These qualities appear naturally in some people because of good tendencies from past lives. That does not mean those who have less of them cannot acquire them. The whole purpose of scripture and spiritual practice is to cultivate these virtues; today's effort becomes tomorrow's nature.

Taking all twenty-six qualities together, we see that the portrait of the divine person belongs to no single sect but describes universal human excellence: fearless, pure, self-controlled, truthful, compassionate, forgiving and humble.

Context

The first two verses listed twenty divine qualities; this verse completes the list with the remaining six. In the next verse Krishna describes the faults of the demonic endowment so that the contrast becomes clear.

Life lesson

True strength is the strength that can forgive, and true virtue is virtue without pride in itself. Divinity lies in balancing vigour with humility, and firmness with gentleness.

Key terms

Tejas: Spiritual vigour and moral authority
Dhriti: Fortitude, the strength to endure adversity
Shaucha: Purity, outer and inner
Natimanita: Absence of excessive pride; humility