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Chapter 16 · The Divine and Demoniac Natures · 24 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 ›
Character & ethicsChapter 16 · The Divine and Demoniac Natures
16.1616.18

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 16.17

Demoniac qualities and their consequences

Prakṛti · Material nature

आत्मसम्भाविता: स्तब्धा धनमानमदान्विता: ।

यजन्ते नामयज्ञैस्ते दम्भेनाविधिपूर्वकम् ॥ १७ ॥

ātma-sambhāvitāḥ stabdhā

dhana-māna-madānvitāḥ

yajante nāma-yajñais te

dambhenāvidhi-pūrvakam

Translation

Self-complacent and always impudent, deluded by wealth and false prestige, they sometimes proudly perform sacrifices in name only, without following any rules or regulations.

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

Religion in Name Only

  1. 1

    Misled by wealth and false prestige, the proud perform sacrifices only for show, without following rules.

  2. 2

    Prabhupāda explains that such demoniac people ignore scripture and authority, mislead others, and invent their own religious paths.

  3. 3

    Follow scripture and its rules rather than making a religious show or inventing your own path.

Key points from the purport

Demoniac hypocritical nature and preachings are described here

Being self-complacent and impudent, they are deluded by wealth and false prestige

They proudly perform sacrifices in name only, without following any rules or regulations

Their hypocritical religious observances cannot save them

a

Perform religious rituals in name only

Without accepting any rules or regulations

b

Avidhi-purvakam — Disregards the rules and regulations of scriptures and are always impudent

Impudence is due to the illusion caused by wealth and false prestige

Takes sannyasa dress without following the restrictions

Some take the dress of preachers and become known as religious reformers or incarnations of God

c

Disbelieve in God — some of the demoniac preachings are:

Preach that whatever path one creates is one’s one path – there is no standard path

Others concoct their own God

Some preach that God is dead

Others say: “You are all God”

Further reading

The Demoniac Nature

Krishna wants to assure Arjuna that he possesses divine and not demoniac qualities

Describes the activities, mentality and qualities of those with demoniac tendencies

Krishna repeatedly casts these mischievous demons into demoniac, abominable species

Chapter 16, section II: The Demoniac Nature
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ātma-sambhāvitāḥself-complacent
  2. stabdhāḥimpudent
  3. dhana-mānaof wealth and false prestige
  4. madain the delusion
  5. anvitāḥabsorbed
  6. yajantethey perform sacrifice
  7. nāmain name only
  8. yajñaiḥwith sacrifices
3

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: daivī-sampat, dharma.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 16.17 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to character & ethics?

Practice

Choose one virtue to practice consciously today.

5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 16.6Demoniac qualities and their consequencesBG 16.7Demoniac qualities and their consequencesBG 12.13Qualities of a devotee dear to Krishna
Live this todayCultivating the Divine QualitiesA practice from BG 16.1-3, close to this verse

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

  1. Learn
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  3. Lead
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