Chapter 18, Verse 42
शमो दमस्तपः शौचं क्षान्तिरार्जवमेव च | ज्ञानं विज्ञानमास्तिक्यं ब्रह्मकर्म स्वभावजम् ||१८-४२||
śamo damastapaḥ śaucaṃ kṣāntirārjavameva ca . jñānaṃ vijñānamāstikyaṃ brahmakarma svabhāvajam ||18-42||
Meaning
18.42 Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness and also uprightness, knowledge, realisation and belief in God are the duties of the Brahmanas, born of (their own) nature.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna lists the qualities natural to the brahmana, the seeker and teacher of wisdom: serenity (shama), self-restraint (dama), austerity, purity, forgiveness, uprightness, knowledge, realization, and astikya, a deep faith in the divine.
Beyond any social label, this is a portrait of the contemplative temperament and the inner work that suits it. These are not arbitrary rules but the natural expressions of a mind oriented toward truth and self-mastery. For anyone whose calling is wisdom and spiritual life, this verse names the very virtues to cultivate — a self-disciplined, pure, and faith-filled character through which knowledge can ripen into realization.
💡 Key Takeaway
The life of wisdom is built on serenity, self-restraint, purity, forgiveness, and faith.
Related Verses
अर्जुन उवाच | संन्यासस्य महाबाहो तत्त्वमिच्छामि वेदितुम् | त्यागस्य च हृषीकेश पृथक्केशिनिषूदन ||१८-१||
arjuna uvāca . saṃnyāsasya mahābāho tattvamicchāmi veditum . tyāgasya ca hṛṣīkeśa pṛthakkeśiniṣūdana ||18-1||
18.1 Arjuna said I desire to know severally, O mighty-armed, the essence or truth of renunciation, O Hrishikesa, as also of abandonment, O slayer of Kesi.
न द्वेष्ट्यकुशलं कर्म कुशले नानुषज्जते | त्यागी सत्त्वसमाविष्टो मेधावी छिन्नसंशयः ||१८-१०||
na dveṣṭyakuśalaṃ karma kuśale nānuṣajjate . tyāgī sattvasamāviṣṭo medhāvī chinnasaṃśayaḥ ||18-10||
18.10 The man of renunciation, pervaded by purity, intelligent, and with his doubts cut asunder, does not hate a disagreeable work nor is he attached to an agreeable one.
ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परन्तप | कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि स्वभावप्रभवैर्गुणैः ||१८-४१||
brāhmaṇakṣatriyaviśāṃ śūdrāṇāṃ ca parantapa . karmāṇi pravibhaktāni svabhāvaprabhavairguṇaiḥ ||18-41||
18.41 Of Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas, as also of Sudras, O Arjuna, the duties are distributed according to the alities born of their own nature.