Bhagavad-gītā 16.5

Explain simply

Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa

दैवी सम्पद्विमोक्षाय निबन्धायासुरी मता ।
मा शुचः सम्पदं दैवीमभिजातोऽसि पाण्डव ॥५॥

daivī sampad vimokṣāya
nibandhāyāsurī matā
mā śucaḥ sampadaṁ daivīm
abhijāto 'si pāṇḍava

Word for word (synonyms)

daivī
transcendental
sampat
nature
vimokṣāya
meant for liberation
nibandhāya
for bondage
āsurī
demoniac qualities
matā
it is considered
mā
do not
śucaḥ
worry
sampadam
nature
daivīm
transcendental
abhijātaḥ
born
asi
you are
pāṇḍava
O son of Pāṇḍu

Translation

The transcendental qualities are conducive to liberation, whereas the demonic qualities make for bondage. Do not worry, O son of Pāṇḍu, for you are born with the divine qualities.

Purport

Lord Kṛṣṇa encouraged Arjuna by telling him that he was not born with demoniac qualities. His involvement in the fight was not demoniac because he was considering the pro's and con's. He was considering whether respectable persons such as Bhīṣma and Droṇa should be killed or not, so he was not acting under the influence of anger, false prestige, or harshness. Therefore he was not of the quality of the demons. For a kṣatriya, a military man, shooting arrows at the enemy is considered transcendental, and refraining from such a duty is demoniac. Therefore, there was no cause for Arjuna to lament. Anyone who performs the regulated principles of the different orders of life is transcendentally situated.

What this verse teaches

Destiny of divine and demoniac

Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures 4

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.