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Chapter 16 of 18

दैवासुर सम्पद् विभाग योग

The Divine and Demoniac Natures

Lust, anger, and greed — three gates to ruin, and the Gita names them without euphemism.

24 verses

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16 — Summary

Chapter 16 divides human tendencies into two: the daivi sampad (divine endowment) and the asuri sampad (demoniac endowment). It is the Gita's most explicit chapter on ethics, and its most direct about what a wasted life looks like.

The divine qualities are listed first, and the list is long: fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge, charity, self-restraint, sacrifice, study, austerity, uprightness, non-violence, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, tranquillity, absence of malice, compassion for all beings, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness, vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, absence of hatred, and absence of pride. What stands out is how ordinary most of them are — no supernatural attainments, just decency practised steadily.

The demoniac portrait that follows is unsparing and uncomfortably recognisable. Such people know neither what to do nor what to refrain from; they say the world is without truth, without moral basis, without God, brought about by mere desire. Filled with insatiable craving, hypocrisy, arrogance, and conceit, bound by a hundred snares of expectation, they think: this I have gained today, that desire I shall fulfil next; this enemy I have slain, and the others I shall slay; I am rich, well-born, successful — who is equal to me? The Gita's diagnosis of self-importance has not aged. The chapter culminates in a verse of great compression: threefold is the gate of hell, destructive of the self — lust, anger, and greed. Therefore abandon these three. It ends by directing Arjuna to scripture as the authority for deciding what should and should not be done.

Key Themes

Two endowments

Krishna sorts human dispositions into the divine and the demoniac — not two species of people, but two directions a life can take. He reassures Arjuna immediately: do not grieve, you are born to the divine endowment.

The anatomy of arrogance

The asuric monologue Krishna quotes — I have gained this, I will gain that, I killed him, I will kill them, who is my equal? — is a portrait of the ego narrating its own success. Its accuracy about the psychology of unchecked ambition is why this chapter still lands.

The three gates

Lust, anger, and greed are named as the three doors to self-destruction, and the instruction is simply to abandon them. The Gita treats these not as sins to be atoned for but as entrances to be avoided.

Scripture as the standard

The chapter closes by insisting that scripture is the authority for determining what ought and ought not to be done — a check on the demoniac tendency to make one's own desire the measure of all things.

Key Verses of Chapter 16

BG 16.1

श्रीभगवानुवाच | अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर्ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः | दानं दमश्च यज्ञश्च स्वाध्यायस्तप आर्जवम् ||१६-१||

The divine qualities begin: fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge, charity, self-restraint.

BG 16.4

दम्भो दर्पोऽभिमानश्च क्रोधः पारुष्यमेव च | अज्ञानं चाभिजातस्य पार्थ सम्पदमासुरीम् ||१६-४||

Hypocrisy, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness, and ignorance belong to the demoniac endowment.

BG 16.13

इदमद्य मया लब्धमिमं प्राप्स्ये मनोरथम् | इदमस्तीदमपि मे भविष्यति पुनर्धनम् ||१६-१३||

The asuric mind speaking: this I have gained today, and that desire I shall fulfil next.

BG 16.21

त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मनः | कामः क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत् ||१६-२१||

Threefold is the gate of hell: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore abandon these three.

BG 16.23

यः शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य वर्तते कामकारतः | न स सिद्धिमवाप्नोति न सुखं न परां गतिम् ||१६-२३||

One who acts on desire, casting aside scripture, attains neither perfection nor happiness.

Where Chapter 16 Sits in the Gita

Chapter 15 completed the Gita's metaphysics. Chapters 16 and 17 apply it to ordinary conduct — first by sorting human dispositions into divine and demoniac, then by analysing faith itself through the three gunas.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the three gates of hell in the Bhagavad Gita?

Verse 16.21 names them: lust (kama), anger (krodha), and greed (lobha). Krishna calls them threefold gates of hell, destructive of the self, and instructs that they be abandoned. The person freed from these three, he says, works for their own highest good and reaches the supreme goal.

What are the divine and demoniac qualities in Chapter 16?

The divine qualities include fearlessness, purity of heart, charity, self-control, non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, compassion, gentleness, modesty, forgiveness, and freedom from pride. The demoniac qualities are hypocrisy, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness, and ignorance — accompanied by insatiable desire and the belief that the world has no moral foundation.

How many verses are in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16?

Chapter 16 has 24 verses.

16.1

श्रीभगवानुवाच |

The Blessed Lord said Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and Yoga,…

16.2

अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैशुनम् |

Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness,…

16.3

तेजः क्षमा धृतिः शौचमद्रोहो नातिमानिता |

Vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of pride these belong …

16.4

दम्भो दर्पोऽभिमानश्च क्रोधः पारुष्यमेव च |

Hypocrisy, arrogance and self-conceit, anger and also harshness and ignorance, belong to o…

16.5

दैवी सम्पद्विमोक्षाय निबन्धायासुरी मता |

The divine nature is deemed conducive to liberation, and the demoniacal to bondage. Grieve…

16.6

द्वौ भूतसर्गौ लोकेऽस्मिन्दैव आसुर एव च |

There are two types of beings in this world, the divine and the demoniacal; the divine has…

16.7

प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च जना न विदुरासुराः |

The demoniacal know not what to do and what to refrain from; neither purity, nor right con…

16.8

असत्यमप्रतिष्ठं ते जगदाहुरनीश्वरम् |

They say, "This universe is without truth, without (moral) basis, without a God, brought a…

16.9

एतां दृष्टिमवष्टभ्य नष्टात्मानोऽल्पबुद्धयः |

Holding this view, these ruined souls of small intellect and fierce deeds, come forth as t…

16.10

काममाश्रित्य दुष्पूरं दम्भमानमदान्विताः |

Filled with insatiable desires, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, holding evil ideas…

16.11

चिन्तामपरिमेयां च प्रलयान्तामुपाश्रिताः |

Giving themselves over to immeasurable cares ending only with death, regarding gratificati…

16.12

आशापाशशतैर्बद्धाः कामक्रोधपरायणाः |

Bound by a hundred ties of hope, given over to lust and anger, they strive to obtain by un…

16.13

इदमद्य मया लब्धमिमं प्राप्स्ये मनोरथम् |

"This has been gained by me today; this desire of mine I shall fuffil; this is mine and th…

16.14

असौ मया हतः शत्रुर्हनिष्ये चापरानपि |

"That enemy has been slain by me; and others also I shall slay. I am the lord. I enjoy. I …

16.15

आढ्योऽभिजनवानस्मि कोऽन्योऽस्ति सदृशो मया |

"I am rich and born in a noble family. Who else is equal to me?

16.16

अनेकचित्तविभ्रान्ता मोहजालसमावृताः |

Bewildered by many a fancy, entangled in the snare of delusion, addicted to the gratificat…

16.17

आत्मसम्भाविताः स्तब्धा धनमानमदान्विताः |

Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform s…

16.18

अहंकारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं च संश्रिताः |

Given over to egoism, power, haughtiness, lust and anger, these malicious people hate Me i…

16.19

तानहं द्विषतः क्रुरान्संसारेषु नराधमान् |

Those cruel haters, worst among men in the world, I hurl those evil-doers into the wombs o…

16.20

आसुरीं योनिमापन्ना मूढा जन्मनि जन्मनि |

Entering into demoniacal wombs and deluded, birth after birth, not attaining Me, they thus…

16.21

त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मनः |

Triple is the gate of this hell, destructive of the self lust, anger and greed; therefore…

16.22

एतैर्विमुक्तः कौन्तेय तमोद्वारैस्त्रिभिर्नरः |

A man who is liberated from these three gates to darkness, O Arjuna, practises what is goo…

16.23

यः शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य वर्तते कामकारतः |

He who, having cast aside the ordinances of the scriptures, acts under the impulse of desi…

16.24

तस्माच्छास्त्रं प्रमाणं ते कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ |

Therefore, let the scripture be thy authority in determining what ought to be done and wha…