Notice the impulse
Am I trying to explain the issue, or to embarrass the person? Would a pause help me speak more clearly?
Non-harming • compassion • conduct
Ahiṃsā
Ahiṃsā is often translated as non-harming or non-injury. Start with the main idea, see an everyday example, then read the source in English.
Source translation, named commentary and handbook explanations are identified separately. Specialist review remains pending.
Start with the main idea
In Bhagavad Gītā 16.1–3, Kṛṣṇa describes a group of qualities to Arjuna. Non-injury appears alongside truth, restraint of anger, compassion, gentleness and forgiveness.
Handbook explanation: use this group as a prompt to consider how your words and actions affect others. A useful first question is: “Can I respond truthfully and with less harm?” This question is a reflection on the passage, not a quotation from it.
You can read this guide entirely in English. Open the Sanskrit or commentary only when you want more detail.
An everyday example
You disagree with someone in a family discussion. You can explain the disagreement accurately without mocking them or repeating an unverified accusation.
Choose the response
State the specific concern, check the facts and leave room for the other person to answer.
Handbook reflection: the example brings truth, restraint of anger and gentleness together. It is an exercise in applying the reading, not a prescribed ritual or a judgment of someone’s character.
Read the source in English
These three verses form one connected list. The English below is Swami Swarupananda’s 1909 translation, published by Advaita Ashrama in the Ramakrishna Order’s Advaita Vedānta context. Some of its vocabulary is older; word help follows the readings.
The Sanskrit link leads to Prabhupāda’s edition on Vedabase. That edition’s English translation and commentary are separate from the English quoted here.
Bhagavad Gītā 16.1
English · Swami Swarupananda
Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and Yoga; almsgiving, control of the senses, Yajna, reading of the Shastras, austerity, uprightness;
Read the original Sanskrit
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर्ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः ।
दानं दमश्च यज्ञश्च स्वाध्यायस्तप आर्जवम् ॥ १ ॥
Reading help: This opening verse names several qualities before the next verse introduces non-injury. Read the list as a whole: the passage places ethical conduct alongside knowledge, discipline and religious practice.
Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati (1909); Ramakrishna Order / Advaita Vedānta; Bhagavad Gītā 16.1. Read the translated chapter → · Check the Sanskrit →
Bhagavad Gītā 16.2
English · Swami Swarupananda
Non-injury, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, tranquillity, absence of calumny, compassion to beings, uncovetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness ;
Read the original Sanskrit
अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैशुनम् ।
दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम् ॥ २ ॥
Reading help: Non-injury appears with truth, absence of anger, compassion and gentleness. The verse gives a group of qualities, rather than a single rule that resolves every difficult situation.
Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati (1909); Ramakrishna Order / Advaita Vedānta; Bhagavad Gītā 16.2. Read the translated chapter → · Check the Sanskrit →
Bhagavad Gītā 16.3
English · Swami Swarupananda
Boldness, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of pride; these belong to one born for a divine state, O descendant of Bharata.
Read the original Sanskrit
तेजः क्षमा धृतिः शौचमद्रोहो नातिमानिता ।
भवन्ति सम्पदं दैवीमभिजातस्य भारत ॥ ३ ॥
Reading help: Forgiveness, fortitude and absence of hatred continue the portrait. In the translation, “divine state” belongs to the chapter’s description of qualities; it is not a handbook score for judging other people.
Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati (1909); Ramakrishna Order / Advaita Vedānta; Bhagavad Gītā 16.3. Read the translated chapter → · Check the Sanskrit →
A little word help
These plain-English glosses help you read the older translation; they are not replacement quotations.
- Calumny: slander or a false statement intended to damage someone’s reputation.
- Uncovetousness: not craving what belongs to another person.
- Fortitude: courage and steadiness through difficulty.
- Tranquillity: calmness.
Go deeper: a named commentary
How does Prabhupāda explain ahiṃsā here?
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda · Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava / ISKCON context. In his commentary on 16.1–3, he connects nonviolence with allowing living beings to progress spiritually. He applies this interpretation to animal killing and food choices, explaining it through transmigration and spiritual development.
This is an attributed handbook paraphrase of his commentary. It is one named tradition’s interpretation; it is not the wording of Swarupananda’s translation or a claim that every Hindu community gives the same explanation.
Try one small reflection
- Choose an ordinary interaction you can reflect on.
- Notice one quality from the reading: truth, gentleness, compassion or restraint of anger.
- Write one concrete response you could try.
- Afterward, consider what changed and what remains difficult.
The exercise is for your own learning. Keep your notes as reflections rather than treating them as scriptural instructions.
Common questions
Does non-harming mean I can never disagree?
The selected passage includes both truth and non-injury. It does not say that every disagreement must disappear. The example above asks how to express disagreement with accuracy and gentleness.
Does this page settle every difficult ethical choice?
No. These verses name qualities; they do not supply a detailed answer to every competing responsibility. Keep the actual situation and the relevant tradition’s teaching in view, and bring difficult interpretive questions to an identified teacher.
Is ahiṃsā only about physical actions?
This passage also names truth, absence of calumny, restraint of anger and gentleness. Reading the qualities together gives us a reason to consider speech and relationships alongside physical actions.
Do I need to read Sanskrit first?
No. The full selected English translation is visible above. Sanskrit is available under each reading for reference and further study.
Check your understanding
Which verse explicitly names non-injury?
Answer: Bhagavad Gītā 16.2. It also names truth, absence of anger, compassion and gentleness.
Is the family-discussion example part of the Gītā?
Answer: no. It is a labeled handbook reflection to help you consider the passage.
Whose translation and commentary appear here?
Answer: the quoted English is Swami Swarupananda’s translation. The optional commentary note paraphrases Prabhupāda’s separate explanation.
Continue reading
Explore Dharma for another ethical concept, or Bhakti for a reading that brings devotion and conduct together. Return to the concept guide to choose your next topic.