Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 16, Verse 6
द्वौ भूतसर्गौ लोकेऽस्मिन् दैव आसुर एव च।दैवो विस्तरशः प्रोक्त आसुरं पार्थ मे श्रृणु।।
dvau bhūta-sargau loke ’smin daiva āsura eva ca
daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta āsuraṁ pārtha me śṛṇu
also searched as "dvau bhuta-sargau loke 'smin daiva asura eva cha"
Translation
There are two types of beings in this world: the divine and the demoniac. The divine have been described at length. Hear from Me, O Arjuna, about the demoniac.
Vāṇi's rendering
Two kinds of beings walk this world: the godly and the dark. I have described the godly. Now hear the other.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| द्वौdvau | two |
| भूतसर्गौbhūta-sargau | orders of created beings, two kinds of born nature |
| लोकेloke | in the world |
| अस्मिन्’smin | this (asmin, the initial a absorbed after loke) |
| दैवःdaiva | the godly one (daivaḥ, ḥ softened before āsura) |
| आसुरःāsura | the dark one, the demoniac (āsuraḥ, ḥ dropped before eva) |
| एवeva | indeed, just so |
| चca | and |
| दैवःdaivo | the godly kind |
| विस्तरशःvistaraśaḥ | at length, in detail |
| प्रोक्तःprokta | has been described (proktaḥ, ḥ softened before āsuram) |
| आसुरम्āsuraṁ | the dark kind |
| पार्थpārtha | Arjuna, son of Pṛthā |
| मेme | from me |
| श्रृणुśṛṇu | hear, listen now |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16 Verse 6 mean?
Krishna names two orders of nature at work in the world — the godly and the dark — and says the first has already been laid out. Now the second must be heard. It is not a ranking of people. It is the announcement of a long, unsparing description that Arjuna is about to receive.
What does dvau bhuta sargau loke smin mean?
Two kinds of created being walk this world. Bhūta-sargau does not mean two species or two castes of men; it means two dispositions that beings are born into and live out. Both are found in this loka, this ordinary world, often in the same street and the same hour.
If Arjuna is already divine by nature, why must he hear about the demoniac?
Because knowing your own tendency is not the same as recognising its opposite when it arrives. Krishna gives the dark nature far more verses than the bright one. What is already yours needs no instruction. What can quietly move in and take the chair does.
Does this verse divide humanity into good people and bad people?
No. Krishna is describing two currents, not two camps. Nowhere does he tell Arjuna to sort his enemies into one and his friends into the other. The list that follows is meant to be read inward. Use it as a mirror, and the verse does its work.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
View on the App Store
Commentary
Krishna has just told Arjuna he was born to the godly side. Then he says: now hear about the other — and spends eighteen verses on it. Five went to the light. That imbalance is deliberate. You do not need a long description of what you already are; you need a long description of what can take you over without announcing itself. The two kinds are not two tribes to be sorted into. They are two ways a single day can go. Read the dark list slowly, and notice how many lines you recognize from Tuesday.