Verse 16.2 : Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga "Divine & Demonic Natures"

Krishna continues his list of the twenty-six divine virtues (daivī sampad), transitioning from personal spiritual disciplines to relational ethics. In the ancient Indian context, these virtues were not abstract ideas but concrete social responsibilities that maintained the fabric of community harmony (dharma) during times of conflict.

This verse lists ten virtues: non-injury (ahiṁsā), truthfulness (satyam), freedom from anger (akrodhaḥ), renunciation (tyāgaḥ), peacefulness (śāntiḥ), aversion to fault-finding (apaiśunam), compassion to all living beings (dayā bhūteṣu), freedom from greed (aloluptvam), gentleness (mārdavam), modesty (hrīḥ), and absence of fickleness (acāpalam). Compassion (dayā) is the active desire to alleviate the suffering of others, while non-injury (ahiṁsā) is the vow not to cause harm in thought, word, or deed. Renunciation (tyāgaḥ) is the letting go of the egoistic ownership of actions.

Non-injury and compassion are foundational in Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), which trains the mind to respond to internal and external distress with kindness rather than judgment or hostility. Modesty (hrīḥ) and absence of fickleness (acāpalam) correlate with emotional maturity and cognitive stability. In a hyper-connected world filled with endless stimuli, cultivating acāpalam (stability of attention) acts as a powerful shield against ADHD-like symptoms and attention fragmentation, helping us build a focused and tranquil mind.