अहिंसा समता तुष्टिस्तपो दानं यशोऽयशः | भवन्ति भावा भूतानां मत्त एव पृथग्विधाः ||५||
ahiṃsā samatā tuṣṭis tapo dānaṃ yaśo'yaśaḥ | bhavanti bhāvā bhūtānāṃ matta eva pṛthag-vidhāḥ || 5 ||
Non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame and infamy — these varied states arise from Me alone.
Word by word (3)
- ahiṃsā samatā tuṣṭi tapas dāna yaśas ayaśas
- — Non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame, infamy · ahiṃsā = non-injury, non-violence (a = not; hiṃsā = injury, harm — from √hiṃs = to injure; ahiṃsā = 'non-harming, non-violence' — the first yama in Patañjali's yoga, the foundational ethical principle of Indian philosophy). samatā = equanimity, evenness (sama = same, even; samatā = 'the quality of being even, equanimity, evenness toward all' — compare V6.9's sama-darśana and V2.48's samatvaṃ yoga ucyate). tuṣṭi = contentment, satisfaction (from √tuṣ = to be satisfied; tuṣṭi = 'contentment, satisfaction, the feeling of being enough' — compare V6.8's tuṣṭa and V12.14's santuṣṭa). tapas = austerity, spiritual practice, self-discipline (from √tap = to heat; tapas = 'heat, austerity, spiritual discipline' — the disciplined practice that purifies the practitioner). dāna = charity, giving (from √dā = to give; dāna = 'gift, charitable giving' — one of the three great practices: tapas + dāna + yajna). yaśas = fame, glory (from √yaś = to be celebrated; yaśas = 'fame, glory, good reputation'). ayaśas = infamy, disgrace (a = not; yaśas = fame; ayaśas = 'bad reputation, infamy, disgrace'). Note: V5 closes with the most socially mundane conditions (fame/infamy) in what begins as a spiritual list. This is deliberate: the divine is the source of everything from ahiṃsā (the highest ethical principle) to ayaśas (social disgrace). The list includes what is conventionally most valued (fame) AND most feared (infamy) — both arise from the divine.
- bhavanti bhāvā bhūtānāṃ matta eva pṛthag-vidhāḥ
- — The various conditions of beings arise from Me alone · bhavanti = they arise, they become (√bhū = to become; bhavanti = third person plural present — 'they arise, they come to be'). bhāvāḥ = conditions, states, dispositions (from √bhū; bhāva = 'being, state, condition, disposition, nature, intention'; plural bhāvāḥ = 'the various conditions, states'). bhūtānāṃ = of beings (bhūta = created being, living being; genitive plural = 'of beings'). matta eva = from Me alone (mat = from Me; eva = indeed/alone — emphatic; matta eva = 'from Me indeed, from Me alone'). pṛthag-vidhāḥ = of various kinds (pṛthak = separate, distinct, various; vidhā = kind, type; pṛthag-vidhāḥ = 'of various kinds, diverse, manifold'). V5's closing declaration: bhavanti bhāvā bhūtānāṃ matta eva pṛthag-vidhāḥ — 'the various conditions of beings arise from Me alone.' This closes the 20-condition list of V4-V5. The matta eva (from Me ALONE) is uncompromising: not 'mostly from Me' or 'partially from Me' — but 'from Me alone, and only from Me.' This is Ch.10's most totalizing claim about divine origination in the internal/experiential domain. Everything in the phenomenological spectrum of being — from the highest spiritual quality (buddhi, V4) to the lowest social condition (ayaśas = infamy, V5) — arises from the divine ground. This is the foundation for the vibhūti catalogue that will follow: if even the inner conditions of beings arise from the divine, how much more the manifest universe.
- matta eva — from Me alone: the totalizing claim of V4-V5
- — V5's matta eva (from Me alone) makes the strongest possible claim: not 'I am one source among others' but 'I am the sole source of all these conditions' · The matta eva construction is grammatically emphatic: mat (ablative of ahaṃ = I/Me) + eva (emphatic particle = indeed/alone/only). 'From Me indeed, from Me alone, from Me and nothing else.' This is Ch.10's most uncompromising divine-source claim in the inner domain. It is matched by V10.39's na tad asti vinā yat syān mayā (nothing whatever would exist without Me) in the outer domain. Together V4-V5's matta eva + V10.39's na tad asti = Ch.10's complete divine-source theology: I am the source of all internal conditions (V4-V5) AND all external manifestations (V10.20-V39). The list structure of V4-V5 is designed to include deliberately heterogeneous items: the highest virtue (buddhi/jñāna) alongside the most painful experience (duḥkha/bhaya) alongside the most socially ambivalent conditions (yaśas/ayaśas). This heterogeneity is the point: not just the virtuous and pleasant arise from the divine, but the COMPLETE spectrum. The matta eva is thus not a theological simplification but a radical ontological claim: the divine is the ground of ALL being-states, without exception.
V5 completes V4's list and delivers the declaration: bhavanti bhāvā bhūtānāṃ matta eva pṛthag-vidhāḥ — all these diverse conditions of beings arise from Me alone. V5's seven additions: ahiṃsā (non-violence), samatā (equanimity), tuṣṭi (contentment), tapas (austerity), dāna (charity), yaśas (fame), ayaśas (infamy). From the highest ethical principle (ahiṃsā) to social disgrace (ayaśas) — ALL arise from the divine. The matta eva (from Me ALONE) is emphatic: the divine is the sole source of the complete experiential spectrum.
A modern analogy
A musician's skill arises from practice, but the capacity for music — the very architecture of the human ear, the neurological structures that process pitch and rhythm, the emotional response to harmony — these arise from a ground that the musician didn't create. V5's matta eva says the same: your capacity for non-violence, equanimity, and contentment arises from a divine ground. Your cultivation cooperates with that ground; it doesn't produce it.
What it does NOT mean
V5's matta eva (from Me alone) does not mean human agency doesn't exist or that beings have no role in cultivating virtues like ahiṃsā or contentment. It means the GROUND from which these qualities arise, the capacity for them, and the power that sustains them are divine. Human effort cooperates with and channels the divine's own qualities — it doesn't produce them ex nihilo. This is why V5's virtues are called bhāvāḥ (conditions, states) rather than karma (acts): they are states of being that arise, not performances that a separate agent produces.
Take with you
- V5's ahiṃsā (non-violence) as the first-listed virtue for a reason: of the seven conditions in V5, ahiṃsā leads. In the Indian ethical tradition, ahiṃsā is the root from which other virtues grow. V5 places it first in the second half of the divine-conditions list, following V4's inner cognitive virtues (buddhi through śama). The sequence: cognitive clarity (V4) → ethical non-harm (V5's ahiṃsā) → equanimity/contentment → austerity/charity → social conditions. This is a complete virtue map.
- V5's yaśas-ayaśas (fame and infamy) at the end of the list as deliberate: Krishna ends the 20-condition list with the most socially contingent pair — fame and infamy. Both arise from the divine. This is the teaching for social anxiety: whether you are currently experiencing yaśas (recognition, success) or ayaśas (disgrace, failure), BOTH arise from the same divine ground. Neither your fame nor your infamy defines your ultimate reality — both are bhāvā (conditions) from the divine.
- V4-V5 as a 20-condition gratitude practice: once a week, go through all 20 conditions (V4's 13 + V5's 7). For each one currently strong in you: recognize it as a divine vibhūti and express gratitude. For each one currently absent: recognize it as a divine condition not yet manifesting and invite it. This practice shifts the relationship to virtues from 'my achievements' to 'divine manifestations flowing through me when conditions are right.'
V10.5's matta eva pṛthag-vidhāḥ (from Me alone, of various kinds) is one of the Gita's most totalizing divine-source declarations. The theological claim: ALL conditions of beings — from the highest spiritual quality (buddhi) to the lowest social condition (ayaśas) — arise from the divine alone. The philosophical structure of V4-V5 is precise in its inclusivity: 1. Cognitive virtues (buddhi, jñāna, asaṃmoha) — the highest faculties 2. Ethical virtues (kṣamā, satya, dama, śama) — the primary moral qualities 3. Experiential polarities (sukha/duḥkha, bhava/abhāva, bhaya/abhaya) — the fundamental paired experiences 4. Social-ethical virtues (ahiṃsā, samatā, tuṣṭi, tapas, dāna) — the relational and disciplinary qualities 5. Social conditions (yaśas/ayaśas) — the most externally contingent pair The list descends from the most interior/spiritual (buddhi) to the most exterior/social (fame/infamy). This descent is deliberate: it shows that the divine is the source not just of the spiritual heights but all the way down to social reputation. Nothing in the experiential spectrum falls outside the divine's matta eva. The ahiṃsā leads V5 for philosophical reasons: in the Gita's ethical framework, ahiṃsā is the foundational ethical quality (from which all other ethics flow). By placing it first in V5, Krishna signals that non-violence is a divine vibhūti — a quality of the divine itself. This anticipates the later teaching (V16.2 and V17.14) where ahiṃsā appears as a central divine virtue.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: all 20 conditions are expressions of the one Brahman through the field of Māyā. Ahiṃsā is the recognition of ātman in all (V5.18's sama-darśana — seeing the same in all — is the epistemological ground of ahiṃsā). Samatā is the equanimity that comes from ātman-recognition. Tuṣṭi (contentment) is the self-sufficiency of the ātman that needs nothing from outside. All virtues in V5 are thus expressions of ātman-knowledge in the practical domain.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti traditions, V5's dāna (charity, giving) is particularly significant: the divine GIVES (matta eva = from Me) — and the devotee who gives in dāna is expressing the divine's own quality of giving. The bhakta's giving is the divine's giving through the bhakta. This connects to V9.26's I RECEIVE (aśnāmi) — the divine gives and receives; the devotee who gives and offers participates in this divine giving-receiving cycle.
Karma-Yoga lens
Tilak's focus in Ch.10: the 20 conditions of V4-V5 include the complete equipment for karma yoga — buddhi (for judgment), jñāna (for knowledge), kṣamā (patience with results), satya (truthfulness), dama+śama (self-discipline), ahiṃsā (non-harm in action), samatā (equanimity with outcomes). All of these arising 'from Me alone' means the karma yogi's inner equipment is divine-sourced — cultivating these virtues is cooperating with the divine's own expression through the individual.
Modern parallels
V5's list connects to Aristotle's virtue ethics in an interesting way: both traditions hold that virtues are states of character (bhāvāḥ in Sanskrit; hexis in Greek) rather than mere acts. But the Gita's matta eva (from Me alone) grounds these states ontologically — they arise from a transcendent source, not just from habituation (as Aristotle's account would have it). This is a significant divergence: Aristotle's virtues are acquired through practice; the Gita's virtues arise from a divine ground that practice helps channel.
Practice
V4-V5 complete meditation: sit with the full list of 20 conditions. First 5 min: receive the cognitive virtues (buddhi → śama) as divine gifts currently available to you. Notice which are strong and which are dim. Second 5 min: receive the experiential polarities (sukha/duḥkha etc.) — name what polarity you are currently living in and hold BOTH poles as arising from the divine. Third 5 min: receive V5's relational virtues (ahiṃsā → ayaśas) — especially the social ones. Where are you experiencing yaśas or ayaśas right now? Hold it as a divine bhāva. Close with matta eva — rest in 'all this arises from Me alone.'
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
[SW V5 missing from index] — Non-injury, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame and infamy — these are the various conditions of beings which arise from Me alone. [4]
satisfaction, restraint of body and mind, alms-giving, inoffensiveness, zeal and glory and ignominy, all these the various dispositions of creatures come from me. [6]
And sweet harmlessness, and peace which is the same / Whate'er befalls, and mirth, and tears, and piety, and thrift / And wish to give, and will to help — all cometh of My gift! [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Intellect, wisdom, patience, truth, calm, restraint, joy, pain, birth, death, fear, fearlessness — all arise from Me.
I am the seed of all beings, O Arjuna — there is no being, moving or unmoving, that can exist without Me.
Do the work rooted in yoga, unattached. Equanimity in success and failure — that IS yoga.
Knowing Me as the enjoyer of all sacrifice and austerity, Great Lord of all worlds, Friend of all beings — peace comes.
Like a tortoise draws in its limbs, the wise one withdraws senses from objects. Wisdom stands firm.
Those who eat yajna's remnants reach eternal Brahman. Without offering, not even this world is theirs.