Devotion must become non-harm and compassion.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैशुनम् |दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम् ||१६-२||
ahiṃsā satyamakrodhastyāgaḥ śāntirapaiśunam . dayā bhūteṣvaloluptvaṃ mārdavaṃ hrīracāpalam ||16-2||
Use this verse as a daily speech and compassion check.
Meaning
Non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of fault-finding, compassion for beings, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, and steadiness.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Divine character expresses itself through kindness, truth, peace, and compassion.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna continues the divine qualities by focusing on how we treat others. Spiritual growth must soften speech, reduce anger, stop gossip, increase compassion, and remove greed.
Read the traditional commentary
The divine catalogue continues, now turning toward how the awakened soul meets others. Ahimsa — harmlessness — is the cornerstone: a refusal to wound by thought, word, or deed, paired with satyam, the courage to live in truth. Where many imagine gentleness as weakness, Krishna places mardavam (softness) and hri (a wholesome modesty) among the strengths of the strong.
These qualities form a relational ethic. Akrodha (freedom from anger), apaishunam (refusing to slander), and daya (compassion for all that breathes) all dissolve the ego's habit of dividing the world into rivals. Acapalam — steadiness — anchors them, so that virtue is not a passing mood but a settled way of being.
The divine nature, then, is recognised less by what it preaches than by how it treats the living world around it.
In daily life
Check whether your speech and reactions create peace or harm.
A person may chant daily but still need to stop gossiping or reacting angrily in family chats.
Try this today
Avoid one act of criticism or gossip today.
My words and actions become gentle and truthful.Reflect
Where does my behavior need more compassion?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘अपैशुनम्’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on compassion, in other chapters
- Verse 11.50 · SanjayaAfter being stretched by the vast, the soul is gently brought back to ground and consoled by the Divine.
- Verse 10.5Cultivating virtues like non-violence and contentment is really aligning yourself with their Divine source.
- Verse 13.12True knowledge is whatever keeps you steadily turned toward your deepest Self; everything else is ignorance dressed up as learning.
- Verse 17.14True bodily discipline is reverence, purity, honesty, restraint, and non-harm — using the body to live with integrity, not to punish it.
Swipe left for 16.3 · Divine strength is humble and forgiving.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 16.2
Who says Bhagavad Gita 16.2, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 16.2, in Chapter 16, Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga (Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 16.2 mean?
Non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of fault-finding, compassion for beings, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, and steadiness. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 16.2 for daily life?
Check whether your speech and reactions create peace or harm. A person may chant daily but still need to stop gossiping or reacting angrily in family chats.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 16.2 mean?
अहिंसा — non-violence, harmlessness; सत्यम् — truthfulness; अक्रोधः — absence of anger; त्यागः — renunciation; शान्तिः — peacefulness, tranquility.
Where does verse 16.2 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 2 of 24 in Chapter 16, Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 16.3.