Verse 16.14
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
असौ मया हतः शत्रुर्हनिष्ये चापरानपि | ईश्वरोऽहमहं भोगी सिद्धोऽहं बलवान्सुखी ||१४||
Transliteration (IAST)
asau mayā hataḥ śatrur haniṣye cāparān api | īśvaro 'ham ahaṁ bhogī siddho 'haṁ balavān sukhī ||14||
Word-by-Word Meanings
asau-that
mayā hataḥ-slain by me
śatruḥ-enemy
haniṣye-I shall slay
īśvaraḥ aham-I am the lord
bhogī-the enjoyer
siddhaḥ-perfect/successful
balavān sukhī-powerful and happy
Translation
That enemy has been slain by me, and I shall slay others too. I am the lord, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, powerful, and happy.
Commentary
Shankaracharya explains that this verse reveals the ultimate delusion of the āsura - the claim 'īśvaro'ham' (I am the lord), which is a perversion of the Vedantic truth. While the Upanishads teach 'aham brahmāsmi' in the context of the universal Self, the demoniac person claims lordship from ego. Ramanuja notes the five-fold false identification: lord, enjoyer, perfect, powerful, and happy - all rooted in ahaṅkāra.
Themes
karmaatman