daivī sampad vimokṣāya
nibandhāyāsurī matā
mā śucaḥ sampadaḿ daivīm
abhijāto ’si pāṇḍava
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 16.5
The transcendental qualities are conducive to liberation, whereas the demoniac qualities make for bondage. Do not worry, O son of Pandu, for you are born with the divine qualities.
Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
Lord Krishna 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 pros and cons. He was considering whether respectable persons such as Bhishma and Drona 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 kshatriya, 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 regulative principles of the different orders of life is transcendentally situated.
Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
The Lord shows the effects of these two attainments in this verse.
“It appears that I have the asuric traits which will lead to bondage in samsara since I desire to kill enemies by shooting arrows and am thus filled with cruelty and anger.”
To comfort Arjuna who was thus worried, the Lord speaks. “Do not worry. You are born with the daiva qualities. O Pandava! For one born in a ksatriya family, anger and cruelty during war is prescribed by the scriptures. To do otherwise would make you of the asuric nature, possessing violence and other bad qualities.”
Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:
16.5 ‘The divine destiny,’ viz., which is of the nature of submission to My commandments aids liberation, viz., leads to release from bondage. The meaning is that it leads to the eventual attainment of Myself. ‘The demoniac destiny’ viz, which is of the nature of transgression of My commandments, is for bondage, i.e., takes one to degradation. To Arjuna who, on hearing this, became alarmed and anxious about the classfication of his own nature, Sri Krsna said: ‘Do not be grief-ridden. Surely, you are born for a divine destiny, O son of Pandu. The purport is that you have a divine destiny, since you are a son of Pandu who was most eminent among the righteous.
Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:
Lord Krishna now discloses the results of first the divine nature which qualifies for higher spiritual knowledge leading to moksa or liberation from material existence and secondly He discloses the demoniac nature which disqualifies one from moksa and insures enslavement in samsara the perpetual cycle of birth and death. Lord Krishna perceiving that His devotee was distraught by the idea that he may not be a fit aspirant for moksa and hence subject to samsara, the Supreme Lord consoles him with the words ma sucah meaning not to worry, assuring him that he is definitely of the divine nature.
Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:
Sri Madhvacharya did not comment on this sloka.
Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:
Lord Krishna explains the opposing results of the divine nature and the demoniac nature. The divine nature which follows the ordinances and injunctions of the Vedic scriptures has been regarded from time immemorial by self-realised sages and rishis as conducive to moksa or liberation from material existence due to spiritual knowledge and attaining communion with the Supreme Lord. The demoniac nature leads one to act contrarily to the ordinances and injunctions of the Vedic scriptures and hence are conducive to enslavement in samsara the perpetual cycle of birth and death and bondage in material existence taking birth each time in lower and more degraded life forms. Seeing despondency on His devotees face, Lord Krishna assures him not to worry for he is without a doubt born of the divine nature.
Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:
16.5 That which is daivi, divine; sampad, nature; is vimoksaya, for Liberation from the bondage of the world. The asuri, demoniacal nature; mata, is considered to be; nibandhaya, for inevitable bondage. So also is the fiendish nature. Now, when such a statement was made, the Lord, noticing Arjuna having this kind of inner cogitation-‘Am I endowed with the demoniacal nature, or am I endowed with the divine nature?’-, says: ma, do not; sacah, grieve, O son of Pandu! Asi, you are; abhijatah, destined to have, born with the good fortune of having; daivim, the divine; sampadam, nature; i.e., you are destined for an illustrious future.
Commentary by Sri Abhinavagupta of Kaula Tantra Sampradaya:
16.1-5 It has been stated [at the end of the last chapter] that ‘by understanding this’ etc. The thing called ‘understanding’ comes to be [in the following] manner : After the knowledge, born from hearing [the scriptures etc.], there arises a thought-process consisting of the logical analysis, deliberation and deep meditation that take the form ‘This (what is taught in the scriptures etc.) is like this’. The above thought-process is of the nature of investigation, critical examination and judgement. From this thought-process one gains a good knowledge of a well practised from i.e., a contemplation of that object, free from the humiliation (influence) of different category. When this is gained, understanding is achieved Hence, it will be declared : ‘By critically examining in this way fully, act as you please’. (Ch. XVIII, 63). Here, only the preceptor and the scripture are mainly capable of creating the scriptural knowledge. But in producing reasoning, deliberation and meditation the main cause is the capacity to examine critically a thing and it is a special attribute of the pupil and it is an important one. Therefore, with an idea that this is in Arjuna and with an intention to add a preparatory note to the purposeful statement ‘By critically examining this, [act as you please]’; the Bhagavat, the preceptor, says ‘Fearlessness etc.’ The Ignorance, born of the Tamas (Stand) occupies the devilish side. This is repelled (or removed) by the well augmented wisdom that takes hold of the divine part. This is the nature of things [under question] ‘You (Arjuna) have taken refuge in the divine part viz., wisdom, born of the Sattva (Strand). Therefore shirking off the internal Ignorance in the nature of delusion, you should undertake the action, that has the sanction of the scriptures and that is of the nature of eradicating the external foe having the form of ignorance.’ Thus commences the [present] chapter. Hence – Abhayam etc., upto pandava. These are the identification marks of a person of divine parts. [Hence] they are clearly identified. Self-restraint : subduing the sense organs. Thought-lessness : the perfarmance of action without examining the antecedent and the sequel; its absence is the absence of thought-lessness. Vital power : the act of casting away [all] limitations by taking hold energy in the Self. [All] this is the divine wealth and this is for your total emancipation, as it destroys craving. Therefore, don’t get sorrow like ‘Having killed brothers etc., how can I (Arjuna) enjoy pleasure ?’ [The idea of] the rest [of passage] is clear.
Sanskrit Shloka Without Transliteration Marks:
daivi sampad vimoksaya
nibandhayasuri mata
ma sucah sampadam daivim
abhijato ’si pandava
Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:
daivī — transcendental; sampat — assets; vimokṣāya — meant for liberation; nibandhāya — for bondage; āsurī — demoniac qualities; matā — are considered; mā — do not; śucaḥ — worry; sampadam — assets; daivīm — transcendental; abhijātaḥ — born of; asi — you are; pāṇḍava — O son of Pāṇḍu.
