Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 16, Verse 2
अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैशुनम्।दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम्।।
ahinsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śāntir apaiśunam
dayā bhūteṣv aloluptvaṁ mārdavaṁ hrīr acāpalam
also searched as "ahimsa satyam akrodhas tyagah shantir apaishunam"
Translation
Non-injury, truth, freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquility, non-slandering of others, compassion for all beings, freedom from desire, gentleness, a sense of shame, and freedom from fickleness;
Vāṇi's rendering
Harmlessness, truth, freedom from anger; letting go, calm, no slander; kindness to creatures, no greed, gentleness, modesty, steadiness.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अहिंसाahiṁsā | harmlessness; not injuring any living thing in thought, word or deed |
| सत्यम्satyam | truth; speech that matches what is |
| अक्रोधःakrodhaḥ | freedom from anger (sandhi: akrodhas before tyāgaḥ) |
| त्यागःtyāgaḥ | letting go; relinquishment of what is clutched |
| शान्तिःśāntiḥ | calm; inward quiet (sandhi: śāntir before apaiśunam) |
| अपैशुनम्apaiśunam | no slander; not speaking against others behind their backs |
| दयाdayā | kindness, compassion |
| भूतेषुbhūteṣu | toward all creatures (sandhi: bhūteṣv before aloluptvaṁ) |
| अलोलुप्त्वम्aloluptvam | no greed; the senses not lunging at what they touch |
| मार्दवम्mārdavam | gentleness, softness of manner |
| ह्रीःhrīḥ | modesty; the natural shame that keeps one from what is base (sandhi: hrīr before acāpalam) |
| अचापलम्acāpalam | steadiness; freedom from fidgeting and pointless activity |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16 Verse 2 mean?
Krishna continues naming the qualities of one born to the divine nature: harmlessness, truth, freedom from anger, letting go, calm, no slander, kindness to creatures, no greed, gentleness, modesty, steadiness. Most are stated as absences. The verse describes not a set of skills but what a person looks like once grasping and cruelty have fallen away.
What is the meaning of ahimsa satyam akrodhas tyagah shantir apaishunam?
Harmlessness, truth, freedom from anger, letting go, calm, and refusal to slander. These six open the second half of Krishna's list. Notice they run from hand to tongue to heart — what you do, what you say, what you hold. Truth here is not merely accuracy; it is speech that does not wound.
Why does Krishna list so many qualities instead of giving one instruction?
Because character is not a single act. Krishna is drawing a portrait, and a portrait needs many strokes. Read the list slowly and one line will catch you — the anger, or the slander, or the restlessness. That is the stroke your own picture is missing. Begin there, not everywhere.
How can I practise gentleness and modesty when the world rewards neither?
Mārdavam and hrīḥ are not strategies, so they cannot be measured by what the world pays for them. They arise when the need to appear large dies down. Krishna places them among the marks of freedom, not among tactics for success. Practise the letting go, and the gentleness follows without being manufactured.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Count how many of these begin with a negation. Not-harming, not-angry, not-slandering, not-greedy, not-restless. Krishna describes the divine nature largely by what has been removed. This is not a list of feats to accumulate; it is a description of what remains when the grabbing stops. Arjuna is being shown the shape of an inheritance, not a syllabus. Gentleness and modesty are not additions either; they arrive when the need to be large has gone. You do not build harmlessness. You stop the harm, and find that kindness was underneath the whole time.