श्रीभगवानुवाच ।अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर्ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः ।दानं दमश्च यज्ञश्च स्वाध्यायस्तप आर्जवम् ॥
śrībhagavān uvāca |abhayaṃ sattvasaṃśuddhir jñānayogavyavasthitiḥ |dānaṃ damaś ca yajñaś ca svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam ||
- श्रीभगवान् · śrībhagavān
- the Blessed Lord
- उवाच · uvāca
- said
- अभयम् · abhayam
- fearlessness
- सत्त्वसंशुद्धिः · sattvasaṃśuddhiḥ
- purity of being, of heart
- ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः · jñānayogavyavasthitiḥ
- steadfastness in the yoga of knowledge
- दानम् · dānam
- giving, charity
- दमः · damaḥ
- self-restraint
- यज्ञः · yajñaḥ
- sacrifice, worship
- स्वाध्यायः · svādhyāyaḥ
- study of scripture
- तपः · tapaḥ
- austerity
- आर्जवम् · ārjavam
- uprightness, honesty
“The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and yoga, generosity, restraint, worship, study of scripture, austerity, and honesty…”
— Original plain-language translation
The divine catalogue opens with fearlessness — the root from which the other virtues grow. Krishna lists character as destiny: these traits liberate, their opposites bind. The sentence runs on into the next two verses, a single rolling portrait.
— Reader's notes (original)