Chapter 16, Verse 3
तेजः क्षमा धृतिः शौचमद्रोहो नातिमानिता | भवन्ति सम्पदं दैवीमभिजातस्य भारत ||१६-३||
tejaḥ kṣamā dhṛtiḥ śaucamadroho nātimānitā . bhavanti sampadaṃ daivīmabhijātasya bhārata ||16-3||
Meaning
16.3 Vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of pride these belong to the one born for a divine state, O Arjuna.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Here Krishna completes the portrait of the daivi-sampad with qualities that balance fire and restraint. Tejas is radiant vigour — not aggression but a luminous moral energy — while kshama, forgiveness, ensures that this strength never curdles into cruelty. Dhriti, fortitude, holds the seeker steady through hardship, the inner ballast that keeps the boat upright in storms.
The closing virtues — shaucha (purity), adroha (freedom from malice), and nati-manita (the absence of swollen pride) — guard against the subtle corruption of spiritual progress itself, where attainment so easily breeds arrogance. Calling Arjuna 'Bharata,' Krishna reminds him of his own noble lineage and points him toward the inheritance that truly matters: a character shaped for liberation rather than bondage.
💡 Key Takeaway
Cultivate strength tempered by forgiveness and purity tempered by humility — that balance marks a soul destined for the divine.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर्ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः | दानं दमश्च यज्ञश्च स्वाध्यायस्तप आर्जवम् ||१६-१||
śrībhagavānuvāca . abhayaṃ sattvasaṃśuddhirjñānayogavyavasthitiḥ . dānaṃ damaśca yajñaśca svādhyāyastapa ārjavam ||16-1||
16.1 The Blessed Lord said Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and Yoga, almsgiving, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of scriptures, austerity and straightforwardness.
अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैशुनम् | दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम् ||१६-२||
ahiṃsā satyamakrodhastyāgaḥ śāntirapaiśunam . dayā bhūteṣvaloluptvaṃ mārdavaṃ hrīracāpalam ||16-2||
16.2 Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion towards beings, non-covetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness.
दैवी सम्पद्विमोक्षाय निबन्धायासुरी मता | मा शुचः सम्पदं दैवीमभिजातोऽसि पाण्डव ||१६-५||
daivī sampadvimokṣāya nibandhāyāsurī matā . mā śucaḥ sampadaṃ daivīmabhijāto.asi pāṇḍava ||16-5||
16.5 The divine nature is deemed conducive to liberation, and the demoniacal to bondage. Grieve not, O Arjuna, thou art born with divine endowments.