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Chapter 10 · The Opulence of the Absolute · 42 verses

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Remember who is speaking. Kṛṣṇa is speaking. Take the verse as He directs.
  2. 2Say the verse and its words. Read the Sanskrit, then each word with its meaning.
  3. 3Read the translation as it is. Let the translation say what it says, without adding your own meaning.
  4. 4Read the purport. Hear the verse through the disciplic succession.
  5. 5Bring your own question. Ask: where does this verse meet my life, my trouble, my doubt?
  6. 6Act on it, remembering Kṛṣṇa. Carry one instruction into your work today.
Read the full guide: how to read the Bhagavad-gītā ›
Krishna’s natureChapter 10 · The Opulence of the Absolute

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 10.4

Krishna is the origin of all qualities and beings

Īśvara · God

बुद्धिर्ज्ञानमसम्मोह: क्षमा सत्यं दम: शम: ।

सुखं दु:खं भवोऽभावो भयं चाभयमेव च ॥ ४ ॥

अहिंसा समता तुष्टिस्तपो दानं यशोऽयश: ।

भवन्ति भावा भूतानां मत्त एव पृथग्विधा: ॥ ५ ॥

buddhir jñānam asammohaḥ

kṣamā satyaṁ damaḥ śamaḥ

sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ bhavo ’bhāvo

bhayaṁ cābhayam eva ca

ahiṁsā samatā tuṣṭis

tapo dānaṁ yaśo ’yaśaḥ

bhavanti bhāvā bhūtānāṁ

matta eva pṛthag-vidhāḥ

Translation

Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, happiness and distress, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy – all these various qualities of living beings are created by Me alone.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

3 study points

Qualities Come from Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa alone creates all the qualities of living beings, including intelligence, forgiveness, happiness and distress.

  2. 2

    Prabhupāda explains that true knowledge means understanding the difference between spirit and matter.

  3. 3

    Accept what helps you develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and reject what hinders it.

Key points from the purport

These notes cover verses 10.4–5

He is the origin of all qualities, by which one seeks to understand the Truth

Connected verses · 1

Texts 10.3 & 10.4

Now Krishna tells us that “All the qualities possessed by any living entity comes from Him”

Further reading

Understanding Krishna’s Unknowablity, One Serves Him

His origin is impossible to understand for He is the source of all

That which has been created cannot independently understand its own source

One who understands this fact, serves Krishna with devotion

Chapter 10, section I: Understanding Krishna’s Unknowablity, One Serves Him
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. buddhiḥintelligence
  2. jñānamknowledge
  3. asammohaḥfreedom from doubt
  4. kṣamāforgiveness
  5. satyamtruthfulness
  6. damaḥcontrol of the senses
  7. śamaḥcontrol of the mind
  8. sukhamhappiness
3

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: bhagavān, vibhūti.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 10.4 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to krishna’s nature?

Practice

Notice something excellent and see it as His opulence.

5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the SourceA practice from BG 10.8, close to this verse

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.