A declaration · reflective in mood · easy to enter
“False pride and cruelty reveal a nature already turned away from wisdom.”
O son of Pritha, hypocrisy, arrogance, self-importance, anger, harshness, and ignorance are the marks of one born with demonic qualities.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyhypocrisy · arrogance · self-importance · and · anger · harshness · indeed · and · ignorance · and · of one born · O Partha · qualities · demonic
False display, pride, self-importance, anger, harsh speech, and ignorance are signs of a destructive nature.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga" (The Divine and Demoniac Natures).
Verse 4 sits in Chapter 16 of the Bhagavad Gita — Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga, "The Divine and Demoniac Natures". The chapter has 24 verses in total.
A boss who praises honesty in meetings and fudges the accounts after hours shows the first item on this list. Krishna names hypocrisy, arrogance, anger and harshness so you can spot them, starting with yourself.
Did you like this verse?
Hypocrisy, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance mark the demonic nature, Krishna tells Arjuna.
What this verse means
False display, pride, self-importance, anger, harsh speech, and ignorance are signs of a destructive nature.
Context & commentary
Krishna has just described the qualities of a noble nature. Now he turns to Arjuna and names the opposite pattern: hypocrisy, pride, anger, cruelty, and ignorance. The contrast prepares Arjuna to see what kind of life leads to bondage.
What it looks like today
A boss who praises honesty in meetings and fudges the accounts after hours shows the first item on this list. Krishna names hypocrisy, arrogance, anger and harshness so you can spot them, starting with yourself.
“It feels clarifying to name the habits that poison character before they harden into identity.”
Explore related themes: krodha (11 verses)