The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and yoga, charity, self-control, sacrifice, study of scriptures, austerity, and straightforwardness—

Non-violence, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquility, aversion to fault-finding, compassion for all beings, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, and steadiness—

Vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from malice, and absence of excessive pride—these belong to one born for the divine estate, O Bharata.

Hypocrisy, arrogance, pride, anger, harshness, and ignorance—these belong to one born for the demonic estate, O Partha.

The divine nature leads to liberation; the demonic to bondage. Do not grieve, O Pandava—you are born with divine qualities.

There are two types of beings in this world—the divine and the demonic. The divine has been described at length; now hear from Me about the demonic, O Partha.

The demonic do not know what to do and what to refrain from. Neither purity, nor proper conduct, nor truth is found in them.

They say the world is unreal, without foundation, without a God, produced by mutual union, with desire as its cause—what else?

Holding this view, these lost souls of small intellect, of cruel deeds, come forth as enemies of the world for its destruction.

Giving themselves over to insatiable desire, full of hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance, holding false views through delusion, they act with impure resolves.

Bound by countless anxieties ending only in death, regarding gratification of desires as the highest goal, convinced that this is all—

Bound by hundreds of chains of hope, given over to lust and anger, they strive to accumulate wealth by unjust means for the gratification of their desires.

'This I have gained today; this desire I shall fulfill; this wealth is mine, and that also will be mine'—

'That enemy has been slain by me, and I shall slay others too. I am the lord, I am the enjoyer, I am successful, powerful, and happy'—

'I am wealthy and of noble birth. Who is equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will give, I will rejoice'—thus deluded by ignorance—

Bewildered by many thoughts, entangled in the net of delusion, addicted to the gratification of desires, they fall into an impure hell.

Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform sacrifices in name only, ostentatiously, without following proper rules.

Given over to ego, power, arrogance, lust, and anger, these malicious ones hate Me in their own bodies and in others'.

These hateful, cruel, lowest of humans, perpetually inauspicious, I cast continually into demonic wombs in the cycle of existence.

Entering into demonic wombs birth after birth, the deluded, not attaining Me, O son of Kunti, go to the lowest destination.

There are three gates to this hell, leading to the destruction of the self: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one should abandon these three.

One who is freed from these three gates of darkness, O son of Kunti, acts for the soul's welfare and thus attains the supreme goal.

One who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to their own desires attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme goal.

Therefore, let scripture be your authority in determining what should be done and what should not be done. Knowing what is declared by scriptural ordinance, you should act here.