THE BHAGAVADGÎTÂ - CHAPTER XVI.

[Anne Terri]

CHAPTER XVI.

Freedom from fear, purity of heart, perseverance in (pursuit of) knowledge and abstraction of mind, gifts 2, self-restraint 2, and sacrifice, study of the Vedas, penance, straightforwardness, harmlessness, truth 2, freedom from anger, renunciation 3, tranquillity, freedom from the habit of backbiting 4, compassion for (all) beings, freedom from avarice, gentleness, modesty, absence of vain activity, noblemindedness, forgiveness, courage, purity, freedom from a desire to injure others, absence of vanity, (these), O descendant of Bharata! are his who is born to godlike endowments. Ostentatiousness, pride, vanity 5, anger, and also harshness and ignorance (are) his, O son of Prithâ! who is born to demoniac 6 endowments. Godlike endowments are deemed to be (means) for

p. 115

final emancipation, demoniac for bondage 1. Grieve not, O descendant of Bharata! you are born to godlike endowments. (There are) two classes of created beings in this world, the godlike and the demoniac; the godlike (class) has been described at length; now hear from me, O son of Prithâ! about the demoniac. Demoniac persons know not action or inaction 2, neither purity nor yet (correct) conduct nor veracity are in them. They say the universe is devoid of truth 3, devoid of fixed principle 4, and devoid of a ruler, produced by union (of male and female) caused by lust 5, and nothing else. Holding this view, (these) enemies of the world, of ruined 6 selfs, of little knowledge, and of ferocious actions, are born for the destruction (of the world). Entertaining insatiable desire, full of vanity, ostentatiousness, and frenzy, they adopt false notions 7 through delusion, and engage in unholy observances. Indulging in boundless thoughts ending with death 8, given up to the enjoyment of objects of desire, being resolved that that is all, bound down by nets of hopes in hundreds, given up to anger and desire, they wish

p. 116

to obtain heaps of wealth unfairly for enjoying objects of desire. 'This have I obtained to-day; this wish I will obtain; this wealth is mine; and this also shall be mine; this foe I have killed; others too I will destroy; I am lord, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect 1, strong, happy; I have wealth; I am of noble birth; who else is like me? I will sacrifice 2; I will make gifts; I will rejoice.' Thus deluded by ignorance, tossed about by numerous thoughts, surrounded by the net of delusion, and attached to the enjoyment of objects of desire, they fall down into impure hell. Honoured (only) by themselves, void of humility, and full of the pride and frenzy of wealth, these calumniators (of the virtuous) perform sacrifices, which are sacrifices only in name, with ostentatiousness and against prescribed rules 3; indulging (their) vanity, brute force, arrogance, lust, and anger; and hating me in their own bodies and in those of others 4. These enemies 5, ferocious, meanest of men, and unholy, I continually hurl down, to these worlds 6, only into demoniac wombs. Coming into demoniac wombs, deluded in every birth, they go down to the vilest state, O son of Kuntî! without ever coming to me. Threefold is this way, to hell,--

p. 117

ruinous to the self 1,--lust, anger, and likewise avarice; therefore one should abandon this triad. Released from these three ways to darkness, O son of Kuntî! a man works out his own welfare, and then proceeds to the highest goal. He 2 who abandoning scripture ordinances, acts under the impulse of desire, does not attain perfection 3, nor happiness, nor the highest goal. Therefore in discriminating between w hat should be done and what should not be done, your authority (must. be) scripture. And knowing what is declared by the ordinances of scripture, you should perform action in this world.

Footnotes

114:1 Cf. p. 129 infra. Here Sankara paraphrases it by 'thinking me to be the soul of everything.'

114:2 Cf. Sutta Nipâta, p. 49.

114:3 See next chapter.

114:4 Sutta Nipâta, pp. 15, 101.

114:5 Ostentatiousness = making a show of piety; pride = scil. of wealth and learning; vanity = esteeming oneself too highly; harshness =mercilessness.

114:6 Cf. Khândogya-upanishad, p. 585, and Müller's Hibbert Lectures, p. 322.

115:1 Scil, to birth and death in this world.

115:2 What should be done for the attainment of real good, and what should not be done as productive of mischief. See too p. 125.

115:3 I. e. contains nothing that is entitled to belief, as the Vedas, &c.

115:4 No principle based on virtue and vice in the government of the world.

115:5 They do not believe in any unseen cause, out say the lust of mankind is the cause of the universe.

115:6 I. e. who have none of the means of reaching the next world.

115:7 Such as that by propitiating a certain divinity by a certain rite they may obtain treasure and so forth.

115:8 Till their last moments, thinking of making new acquisitions and preserving old ones.

116:1 Blessed with children, &c. Srîdhara takes it to mean, I one who has done all he need do,' and Râmânuga 'sufficient in himself.'

116:2 I. e. get higher renown for sacrifices than others.

116:3 That is, because of indulgence in vanity, &c. Vanity = believing oneself to have virtues which one has not; arrogance = proud disdain of others.

116:4 There is trouble to oneself in sacrifices and to the animals killed for them.

116:5 I. e. of God.

116:6 The commentators render the original here by 'the paths of life and death,' or 'path to hell.'

---

THE BHAGAVADGÎTÂ - CHAPTER XVII.

THE BHAGAVADGÎTÂ - WITH THE SANATSUGÂTÎYA AND
THE ANUGÎTÂ

TRANSLATED BY - KÂSHINÂTH TRIMBAK TELANG, M. A.

Volume 8, The Sacred Books of the East Oxford, The Clarendon Press
[1882]

This version of The Bhagavadgita is in the public domain.
All here may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this cover page giving credit is used intact.