अहिंसा सत्यम् अक्रोधस् त्यागः शान्तिर् अपैशुनम् । दया भूतेष्व् अलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीर् अचापलम् ॥
ahiṃsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śāntir apaiśunam | dayā bhūteṣv aloluptvaṃ mārdavaṃ hrīr acāpalam ||
More daivī qualities: ahiṃsā, satya, akrodha, tyāga, śānti, apaiśuna, dayā, aloluptva, mārdava, hrī, acāpala.
Word by word (3)
- ahiṃsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śāntiḥ
- — ahiṃsā (non-injury/non-harming), satya (truth/honesty), akrodha (absence of anger), tyāga (renunciation/relinquishment), śānti (inner peace/tranquility)
- apaiśunam dayā bhūteṣu aloluptvam
- — apaiśuna (freedom from tale-telling/backbiting), dayā bhūteṣu (compassion toward all beings), aloluptva (freedom from covetousness/greed)
- mārdavaṃ hrīr acāpalam
- — mārdava (gentleness/softness), hrī (modesty/sense of shame — the internal self-regulator), acāpala (absence of restlessness/fickleness — steadiness)
Non-injury, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquillity, absence of slander, compassion for all beings, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, steadiness of character;
A modern analogy
If V1's qualities are the structural frame (fearlessness, purity, discipline), V2's qualities are the interior — the emotional and relational textures of a divine character. Where V1 orients you to practice and wisdom, V2 orients you to others: ahiṃsā (in action), satya (in speech), dayā (in feeling), apaiśuna (in community). The divine character is both self-disciplined AND other-directed.
V2 continues the daivī-quality enumeration, shifting from the practice/discipline orientation of V1 toward the relational and ethical qualities. The sequence moves: inward purification (V1) → relational ethics (V2) → inner strength (V3). V2's qualities are largely about how the divine character inhabits relationships — ahiṃsā, satya, dayā, apaiśuna are all other-facing. Tyāga (renunciation) and śānti (peace) are transitional — they are both inner states and relational expressions.
Hrī (modesty/shame) is a sophisticated virtue — it is the internal self-monitoring that comes from having internalized values, not from fear of external punishment. It is different from lajjā (shyness); hrī is the moral compass that makes a person self-correct without being caught. Acāpala (non-fickleness) closes V2 with stability — the divine character is not reactive or changeable by circumstance.
Advaita lens
Ahiṃsā heads the list because hiṃsā requires a second: to harm an 'other,' there must BE an other. When the Self is seen in all beings, non-violence is not practiced but simply IS — the natural behavior of non-dual seeing. Each daivī quality in V2 (satya, akrodha, śānti, dayā) is likewise the phenomenology of advaita expressed as conduct: what oneness looks like when it walks and speaks.
Bhakti lens
Dayā bhūteṣu — compassion toward all beings — flows directly from seeing the Beloved in every creature. The 26-quality daivī list is the portrait of a heart softened by devotion: mārdava (gentleness) and hrī (modesty) are the unmistakable fragrance of the bhakta in whom the Lord's own nature has begun to reflect. These qualities are not achievements to display but symptoms of proximity to God.
Karma-Yoga lens
V2 is karma-yoga's character curriculum: each quality is built through action performed without self-interest. Akrodha is forged in provocations met without retaliation; tyāga in results released; aloluptvam (non-covetousness) in rewards declined; acāpalam (non-fickleness) in commitments kept. The daivī sampat is not an inheritance but a construction site — built act by act, choice by choice.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, tranquillity, absence of detraction, compassion to beings, non-covetousness, gentleness, modesty, non-inconstancy; [1]
Non-injury, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, tranquillity, absence of calumny, compassion to beings, uncovetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness; [4]
Non-injury, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, tranquillity, absence of vilification, compassion towards all beings, freedom from covetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of inconstancy; [9]
Abstention from injury, truth, freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquility, freedom from reporting other's faults, compassion for all creatures, absence of covetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of restlessness; [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Three gates to hell, destructive of the self: kāma, krodha, lobha. Therefore abandon this triad.
The sound of righteous forces pierces the hearts of those who know they are on the wrong side.
Bound by hundreds of hope-nooses, devoted to kāma and krodha, they hoard wealth by unjust means for sense-enjoyment.
If you don't fight this righteous battle, you abandon your duty and honor — and invite the consequences.
Bodily tapas: honouring Devas/dvija/guru/wise; purity, straightforwardness, brahmacarya, non-injury.
Sat means: being/reality, goodness/virtue, and praiseworthy action — three registers of the one word.