Chapter 16 Part 3 · Jñāna-yoga
The Divine and Demoniac Natures
- Verses
- 24
- Sections
- 4
- Verse pages
- 19
about 0.7 MB
Verses spoken by Śrī Kṛṣṇa 24 All chapters
Theme and purpose
The divine and demoniac natures: Godly men are endowed with 26 divine qualities (daivī sampada). Demoniac people have degraded qualities (asura sampada) and their activities make them enter hell and lower species. Following the scriptures causes elevation and disregarding them causes degradation.
How this chapter connects
In Chapter 15, Kṛṣṇa described the Banyan tree of material world, but its fruits are not described. In Chapter 16, Kṛṣṇa describes the good fruits (divine qualities) and bad fruits (demoniac qualities).
In 16.23, Kṛṣṇa said that those who disregard scriptures and behave whimsically do not attain happiness in this life or the next. In 17.1, Arjuna asks Kṛṣṇa about the unauthorized worship of those who have some faith not based on scriptures.
How the chapter opens
In the previous chapter, Kṛṣṇa described the Banyan tree of the material world, but its fruits have not been described. In this chapter, Kṛṣṇa describes the fruits of the tree which are of two varieties: good fruits (divine qualities) that cause liberation and bad fruits …
Sections and key teachings
- 16.1–3 Daivī sampada – Divine qualities (see the table)
- 16.4–8 Asura sampada – Demoniac qualities
- 16.10–20 Activities of the demoniac people and the consequences – their tendencies, conduct, attitude, engagements, thoughts and destination.
- 16.20–24 Giving up demoniac tendencies (lust, anger and greed which are three gates to hell) and following scriptures.
All verses
16.1–3
16.4–8
16.10–20
16.20–24