A declaration · expansive in mood · a little context helps
“All qualities are expressions of the same divine source.”
Nonviolence, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, honor, and dishonor—all these different states of beings arise from Me alone.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallynonviolence · equanimity · contentment · austerity · charity · honor · dishonor · they become · states · of beings · from Me · only · of different kinds
Nonviolence, balance, contentment, discipline, generosity, honor, and dishonor all arise from Krishna alone in different beings.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Vibhuti Yoga" (The Yoga of Divine Glories).
Verse 5 sits in Chapter 10 of the Bhagavad Gita — Vibhuti Yoga, "The Yoga of Divine Glories". The chapter has 42 verses in total.
A shopkeeper is patient with one customer and snaps at the next, then wonders which one is the real him. Krishna says both calm and its loss come from a source larger than either mood.
Did you like this verse?
Krishna lists honour and dishonour side by side, both arising from him along with nonviolence and charity.
What this verse means
Nonviolence, balance, contentment, discipline, generosity, honor, and dishonor all arise from Krishna alone in different beings.
Context & commentary
Krishna says that even the finest human qualities, such as nonviolence, balance, contentment, discipline, generosity, honor, and dishonor, depend on a source. They all flow from Krishna's presence in beings.
What it looks like today
A shopkeeper is patient with one customer and snaps at the next, then wonders which one is the real him. Krishna says both calm and its loss come from a source larger than either mood.
“You do not have to manufacture your best qualities alone; they are already rooted in something larger.”
Explore related themes: vibhuti (43 verses), tapas (22 verses)