Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa
द्वौ भूतसर्गौ लोकेऽस्मिन्दैव आसुर एव च ।
दैवो विस्तरशः प्रोक्त आसुरं पार्थ मे शृणु ॥६॥
dvau bhūta-sargau loke 'smin
daiva āsura eva ca
daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta
āsuraṁ pārtha me śṛṇu
Word for word (synonyms)
- dvau
- two
- bhūta-sargau
- created living beings
- loke
- in this world
- asmin
- this
- daivaḥ
- godly
- āsuraḥ
- demoniac
- eva
- certainly
- ca
- and
- daivaḥ
- divine
- vistaraśaḥ
- at great length
- proktaḥ
- said
- asuram
- demoniac
- pārtha
- O son of Pṛthā
- me
- from Me
- śṛṇu
- just hear
Translation
O son of Pṛthā, in this world there are two kinds of created beings. One is called the divine and the other demonic. I have already explained to you at length the divine qualities. Now hear from Me of the demoniac.
Defined in the Gītā
Divine and demoniac
What are the divine and the demoniac natures?
The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, purification of one's existence, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, self-control, performance of sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity and simplicity; nonviolence, truthfulness, freedom from anger; renunciation, tranquility, aversion to faultfinding, compassion and freedom from covetousness; gentleness, modesty and steady determination; vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from envy and the passion for honor—these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.
Purport
Lord Kṛṣṇa, having assured Arjuna that he was born with the divine qualities, is now describing the demoniac way. The conditioned living entities are divided into two classes in this world. Those who are born with divine qualities follow a regulated life; that is to say they abide by the injunctions in scriptures and by the authorities. One should perform duties in the light of authoritative scripture. This mentality is called divine. One who does not follow the regulative principles as they are laid down in the scriptures and who acts according to his whims is called demoniac or asuric. There is no other criterion but obedience to the regulative principles of scriptures. It is mentioned in Vedic literature that both the demigods and the demons are born of the Prajāpati; the only difference is that one class obeys the Vedic injunctions and the other does not.
What this verse teaches
The study note for this verse is in editorial review.
Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures 5
- Bhagavad-gītā 16.1-16 Garden Discussion
- Bhagavad-gītā 16.2–7 1971-04-08 · Bombay
- Bhagavad-gītā 16.6 1975-02-02
- Bhagavad-gītā 16.6 1975-10-18
- Bhagavad-gītā 16.6 1976-12-13
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.