Chapter 16, Verse 4
दम्भो दर्पोऽभिमानश्च क्रोधः पारुष्यमेव च | अज्ञानं चाभिजातस्य पार्थ सम्पदमासुरीम् ||१६-४||
dambho darpo.abhimānaśca krodhaḥ pāruṣyameva ca . ajñānaṃ cābhijātasya pārtha sampadamāsurīm ||16-4||
Meaning
16.4 Hypocrisy, arrogance and self-conceit, anger and also harshness and ignorance, belong to one who is born for a demoniacal state, O Partha (Arjuna).
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Having illuminated the divine nature, Krishna now names its shadow, the asuri-sampad. The list is precise and sobering: dambha (the hypocrisy of seeming what one is not), darpa and abhimana (arrogance and inflated self-importance), krodha (anger), parushya (harshness toward others), and ajnana (the root ignorance from which all the rest flows).
What distinguishes the demoniac temperament is not power or even wickedness in the abstract, but a fundamental self-absorption. Each of these traits magnifies the ego and hardens the heart against others. Notice that ignorance is named last as their common source — these are not merely moral failings but symptoms of not knowing the true Self. By laying the two natures side by side, Krishna offers Arjuna, and us, a mirror in which to recognise which seeds we are watering within.
💡 Key Takeaway
Pride, anger, and pretense are not random faults but the predictable fruit of spiritual ignorance and self-absorption.
Related Verses
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.
द्वौ भूतसर्गौ लोकेऽस्मिन्दैव आसुर एव च | दैवो विस्तरशः प्रोक्त आसुरं पार्थ मे शृणु ||१६-६||
dvau bhūtasargau loke.asmindaiva āsura eva ca . daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta āsuraṃ pārtha me śṛṇu ||16-6||
16.6 There are two types of beings in this world, the divine and the demoniacal; the divine has been described at length; hear from Me, O Arjuna, of the demoniacal.
प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च जना न विदुरासुराः | न शौचं नापि चाचारो न सत्यं तेषु विद्यते ||१६-७||
pravṛttiṃ ca nivṛttiṃ ca janā na vidurāsurāḥ . na śaucaṃ nāpi cācāro na satyaṃ teṣu vidyate ||16-7||
16.7 The demoniacal know not what to do and what to refrain from; neither purity, nor right conduct nor truth is found in them.