Verses 16.1-3

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verses 16.1-3:

अभयं सत्त्व-संशुद्धिर् ज्ञान-योग-व्यवस्थितिः ।
दानं दमश् च यज्ञश् च स्वाध्यायस् तप आर्जवम् ॥ १ ॥
अहिंसा सत्यम् अक्रोधस् त्यागः शान्तिर् अपैशुनम् ।
दया भूतेष्व् अलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीर् अचापलम् ॥ २ ॥
तेजः क्षमा धृतिः शौचम् अद्रोहो नाति-मानिता ।
भवन्ति सम्पदं दैवीम् अभिजातस्य भारत ॥ ३ ॥

abhayaṃ sattva-saṃśuddhir jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ |
dānaṃ damaś ca yajñaś ca svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam || 1 ||
ahiṃsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śāntir apaiśunam |
dayā bhūteṣv aloluptvaṃ mārdavaṃ hrīr acāpalam || 2 ||
tejaḥ kṣamā dhṛtiḥ śaucam adroho nāti-mānitā |
bhavanti sampadaṃ daivīm abhijātasya bhārata || 3 ||

śrī bhagavān uvāca–the Supreme Lord said; abhayam–freedom from fear; sattva-saṃśuddhiḥ–purification of one’s existence (and subsequent joyfulness); jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ–becoming firmly situated in the process of union with God through transcendental knowledge; dānam–charity; damaḥ–subduing the external senses; ca–and; yajñaḥ–performance of sacrifice; ca–and; svādhyāyaḥ–contemplation of the Vedic literature; tapaḥ–celibacy; ārjavam–simplicity; ahiṃsā–non-violence; satyam–truthfulness; akrodhaḥ–freedom from anger; tyāgaḥ–renunciation (of possessiveness towards wife, sons and so forth); śāntiḥ–peacefulness; apaiśunam–avoiding fault-finding; dayā–mercy; bhūteṣu–to all beings; aloluptvam–freedom from greed; mārdavam–gentleness; hriḥ–modesty; acāpalam–freedom from being whimsical (steadfastness); tejaḥ–vigour; kṣamā–forgiveness; dhṛtiḥ–determination; śaucam–cleanliness (both internal and external); adrohaḥ–giving up hatred; nāti-mānitā–freedom from excessive self-importance; bhavanti–these appear; sampadam–qualities; daivīm–of divine; abhijātasya–for one born; bhārata–O descendant of Bharata.

Śrī Bhagavān said: Fearlessness, joyfulness of heart, becoming firmly established in the process of acquiring knowledge, charita-bleness, sense control, performance of sacrifice, scriptural study, penance, simplicity, non-violence, truthfulness, lack of anger, detachment from wife, sons and so forth, peacefulness, avoidance of fault-finding, kindness to all beings, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, giving up the tendency to act whimsically, vigour, forgiveness, patience, internal and external cleanliness, and complete absence of hatred and conceit–these are the divine qualities, O Bhārata, that manifest in a godly person who appears in this world at an auspicious moment.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

In the Sixteenth Chapter, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa de-scribes divine and demoniac qualities. He also describes the disposition of the two types of created beings that correspond with these qualities.

The first verse of the Fifteenth Chapter, ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham, describes the aśvattha tree of the material world, but it does not mention its fruits. Remembering this, in the present chapter, Śrī Bhagavān explains the tree’s fruits, which are of two types: one that liberates and one that binds. In the first three verses, Śrī Bhagavān explains the fruit that bestows liberation.

“How will I ever live alone in the forest without my wife and family?” To be free from this type of anxiety is called abhayam, fearlessness. Happiness of heart is called sattva-saṃśuddhiḥ. Steadiness in the process of acquiring knowledge, such as being free from pride, is jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ. Dānam means ‘to offer foodstuffs meant for oneself to others, after dividing it properly’. Damaḥ means ‘controlling the external and internal senses’. Yajñaḥ means ‘worship of the demigods’. Svādhyāyaḥ means ‘study of the Vedas’. Tyāgaḥ means ‘giving up a feeling of possessiveness toward wife and family’. Aloluptvam means ‘to be free from greed’. The meaning of the rest of the words is clear.

These twenty-six qualities beginning with fearlessness indicate a sāttvika disposition, a nature in the mode of goodness, and they are attained by one who takes birth at a time that illuminates that sāttvika nature.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

The divine and demoniac qualities and propensities that were described briefly in the previous chapter are now being explained in detail. Being trapped in the network of māyā, persons of a demoniac nature take birth in various demoniac species of life, which results in misery and pain. On the other hand, those of a divine nature, being endowed with noble qualities, easily cross over the miserable ocean of birth and death and gradually make advancement on the path of bhakti to Śrī Bhagavān. Finally, they taste the happiness of nectarean service to Him in His abode. Such liberated persons never again fall into this material world. The host of divine qualities mentioned herein can only manifest in exalted persons who take birth at an auspicious time from parents who have auspicious qualities and who underwent the garbhādhāna-saṃskāra, the process of conceiving progeny according to Vedic injunctions. This is the secret meaning of the word abhijātasya in the above verse. Parents should not produce children as cats and dogs do. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself has said in the Gītā that He is that sex life which produces good children. Therefore, sex life is not forbidden, but when it is solely for sense enjoyment like that of the animals, it is of a hellish nature.

In the varṇāśrama system, a sannyāsī is considered to be the fore-most guru of society’s four varṇas and āśramas. [Varṇas, or occupational divisions, include brāhmanas–the priestly class, kṣatriyas–administra-tors and warriors, vaiśyas–farmers and tradesmen, and śūdras–artisans. Āśramas, or stages of life, include brahmacarī–celibate student, gṛhasta–matrimony, vānaprastha–retirement, and sannyāsa–the renounced order.] The brāhmaṇa is the guru of the other three varṇas–kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. Only a real sannyāsī who possesses all divine qualities is the guru of the brāhmaṇa.

All such good qualities are visible in pure devotees. A surrendered practitioner of bhakti must be fearless and have the firm conviction, “Bhagavān is my protector and He is always with me. He sees and knows everything and He sustains me.” When a devotee develops this type of faith, he remains completely fearless, wherever he may live, be it at home or in the forest. Prahlāda Mahārāja, Draupadī, the five Pāṇḍavas and Haridāsa Ṭhākura are examples of this. Śrī Haridāsa Ṭhākura remained fearless, even while being beaten by low-class, cruel persons in twenty-two market places in Navadvīpa, which was then under the strict rule of fanatical Muslims. After beating him, they threw him in the river Gaṅgā, but he emerged from the current with a healthy body as before and returned to the small hut where he performed bhajana. When the Muslim ruler and others saw this, they were amazed. Therefore, the sādhaka, or practitioner of bhakti, should always be fearless.

Sattva-saṃśuddhi means ‘the purity of the self’. The conduct of one who practises bhakti is pure. In particular, sannyāsīs and brahmacārīs, who have given up home, wife and children, should not keep intimate relationships with women. It is forbidden for them to joke with or even talk to a woman in a solitary place. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very strict in this regard. This does not mean that He felt malice toward women in general. He made this regulation for sannyāsīs and brahmacārīs, who have renounced their family lives. For men, the intimate association of women is forbidden, and for women, the intimate association of men is forbidden. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave up His dear devotee Choṭa Haridāsa forever because he associated with a woman. In one sense, strī-saṅga (loosely associating with women) means to look upon any object with a desire to enjoy it. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Enjoyer of everyone, and everyone is meant for His enjoyment. A sādhaka should remain pure and consider himself to be Kṛṣṇa’s servant.

To remain engaged in the cultivation of tattva-jñāna, knowledge of the Absolute, is called jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ. Saṅkīrtana-yajña has been accepted as the foremost of all sacrifices, or yajñas. Hiṃsā means ‘violence to the jīva’. To not cause pain to any jīva, either by body, mind or words is actual non-violence. Specifically, one should not be violent to animals. It is violent to block any jīva’s progress toward higher levels of consciousness. When an embodied being experiences an untimely death, he has to take birth again in the same species of life, and after remaining in that body for the rest of the allotted time, he enters another species. One should not stop the progress of any living entity for one’s personal liking, or selfish purpose. To not do so is non-violence.

The twenty-six qualities described in this verse are divine. By developing them, one can gradually reach the highest platform of self-realization.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura writes, “Śrī Bhagavān says, ‘Now, Arjuna, you may doubt the validity of various statements of scripture that one should cultivate sāttvika qualities while striving for jñāna.’ To dispel this doubt, Śrī Bhagavān says, ‘The aśvattha tree of the material world has two fruits. One fruit strongly binds the living entity to the material world, while the other liberates him from it. When the jīva’s existence is completely purified, he becomes fearless. The living entity’s very existence is composed of pure spirit (śuddha-sattva), but in the bound state, this pure nature is dominated by the three modes of nature. All scriptures have given the process of jñāna-yoga, with the intention of purifying one’s existence. The quality of goodness is conducive for cultivating knowledge, which leads to liberation. All these qualities are divine opulences that assist the living entity in realizing his pure existence. Anything that blocks the living entity from attaining his pure state is demoniac (āsurī-sampad). Fearlessness, purity of existence, jñāna-yoga, charitableness, sense control, sacrifice, penance, simplicity, study of the Vedas, non-violence, truthfulness, lack of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, giving up criticism of others, kindness, absence of greed, gentility, shyness, lack of fickleness, vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness and lack of envy and pride are the twenty-six divine qualities called daivī-sampad. If one takes birth at an auspicious moment, he receives these qualities.’”