Sanskrit
दैवी सम्पद्विमोक्षाय निबन्धायासुरी मता । मा शुचः सम्पदं दैवीमभिजातोऽसि पाण्डव ॥
daivī sampad vimokṣāya nibandhāyāsurī matā mā śucaḥ sampadaṃ daivīm abhijāto 'si pāṇḍava
Translation
The divine properties are deemed to be for liberation, the demoniacal for bondage. Grieve not, thou art born with divine properties, O Pândava.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna states the stakes plainly: divine sampad leads toward mokṣa (liberation), demonic sampad toward bondage — no middle category is offered. Then the verse pivots from doctrine to direct address: “grieve not, you are born with divine properties.” This kind of personal reassurance breaking into general teaching recurs throughout the Gita — most famously opening Chapter 2 and closing Chapter 18 — and is part of why the text reads as a dialogue rather than a treatise even during its most list-heavy stretches. Mā śucaḥ — “do not grieve” — echoes the very first words of Krishna’s teaching at BG 2.11 (aśocyān anvaśocaḥ). The endowment is not fixed by fate: it is matā, “held [to be]” — a tendency, and one that can be worked with, which BG 16.21 makes actionable.
Study deeper
Word by word
- daivī sampad vimokṣāyaदैवी संपद् विमोक्षाय
- the divine endowment is for liberation (daivī + sampat + vimokṣāya)
- nibandhāyāsurī matāनिबन्धायासुरी मता
- the demonic, for bondage — so it is held (nibandhāya + āsurī + matā)
- mā śucaḥ sampadaṃ daivīmमा शुचः संपदं दैवीं
- do not grieve — [to] the divine endowment (mā + śucaḥ + sampadam + daivīm)
- abhijāto 'si pāṇḍavaअभिजातो ऽसि पाण्डव
- you are born, O Pāṇḍava (abhijātaḥ + asi + pāṇḍava)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Krishna offers no evidence for the claim that Arjuna is “born with divine properties” — no examples, no argument, just a flat assertion delivered at the exact moment Arjuna might reasonably wonder which side of this new binary he falls on. The reassurance works rhetorically not because it’s proven but because it’s said plainly, at the right moment, by someone Arjuna already trusts — a reminder that timing and trust can do work that argument alone can’t.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you're spiraling over which category you fall into — capable or not, good enough or not — notice that the doubt itself is often the more distorted read, and a trusted person's plain reassurance can be worth more than another round of self-argument.
Professional
- When a capable teammate is quietly doubting whether they belong on a stretch project, a direct, unqualified 'you're the right person for this' from someone they trust often does more than a list of evidence — timing and trust can carry weight that argument can't.
Family & Social
- When someone you love is anxiously wondering if they're fundamentally good or flawed, a plain, well-timed 'you're not who you're afraid you are' can matter more than any list of proof — reassurance doesn't need to be argued, just meant, at the right moment.
Ask yourself
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