Text 5

daivi sampad vimokshaya
nibandhayasuri mata
ma sucah sampadam daivim
abhijato ’si pandava

Translation

The transcendental qualities are conducive to liberation, whereas the demoniac qualities make for bondage. Do not worry, O son of Pandu, for you are born with the divine qualities.

Commentary by Srila Prabhupada

Lord Krishna encouraged Arjuna by telling him that he was not born with demoniac qualities. His involvement in the fight was not demoniac, because he was considering the pros and cons. He was considering whether respectable persons such as Bhishma and Drona should be killed or not, so he was not acting under the influence of anger, false prestige or harshness. Therefore he was not of the quality of the demons. For a kshatriya, a military man, shooting arrows at the enemy is considered transcendental, and refraining from such a duty is demoniac. Therefore there was no cause for Arjuna to lament. Anyone who performs the regulative principles of the different orders of life is transcendentally situated.

Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur

The Lord shows the effects of these two attainments in this verse.

“It appears that I have the asuric traits which will lead to bondage in samsara since I desire to kill enemies by shooting arrows and am thus filled with cruelty and anger.”

To comfort Arjuna who was thus worried, the Lord speaks. “Do not worry. You are born with the daiva qualities. O Pandava! For one born in a ksatriya family, anger and cruelty during war is prescribed by the scriptures. To do otherwise would make you of the asuric nature, possessing violence and other bad qualities.”