असौ मया हतः शत्रुर् हनिष्ये चापरान् अपि । ईश्वरो ऽहम् अहं भोगी सिद्धो ऽहं बलवान् सुखी ॥
asau mayā hataḥ śatrur haniṣye cāparān api | īśvaro 'ham ahaṃ bhogī siddho 'haṃ balavān sukhī ||
'I slew that enemy; I'll slay others. I am Lord, Enjoyer, Perfect, Powerful, Happy' — the ego-apotheosis of the āsurī.
Word by word (3)
- asau mayā hataḥ śatrur haniṣye cāparān api
- — that (asau) enemy (śatruḥ) has been killed (hataḥ) by me (mayā); and I will kill (haniṣye) others too (aparān api) — the violent power-dimension of the ego-monologue
- īśvaro 'ham ahaṃ bhogī
- — I am Īśvara (lord/master — the very title just used for Paramātmā in Ch.15!); I am the enjoyer (bhogī) — supreme self-deification: usurping the title of God
- siddho 'haṃ balavān sukhī
- — I am accomplished/perfect (siddhaḥ), I am powerful (balavān), I am happy (sukhī) — the self-declared triumphant ego at its peak
'That enemy was slain by me; I will slay others too. I am lord, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, powerful, and happy.'
A modern analogy
A person who walks into a room and declares 'I am the king, I am the master, I am perfect' — without any external validation — has substituted ego-assertion for reality. V14 shows the āsurī ego at its zenith: having conquered enemies, having acquired wealth, they now declare themselves God-equivalents. This is the inner logic of tyranny.
V14 is the apex of the āsurī ego-monologue: from having (V13) to power (V14) to status/ritual (V15). The phrase 'īśvaro 'ham' (I am the Lord) is the most striking claim — using the exact title reserved for Paramātmā (Āditya, Vaiśvānara, the Lord from Ch.15). The āsurī doesn't merely want power; they want the position of God. This is hubris in its deepest form: confusing the fragment with the whole, the ego with the Self.
The five declarations (īśvara, bhogī, siddha, balavān, sukhī) are each inversions of genuine spiritual states: real Īśvara = Paramātmā; real bhoga = ānanda (bliss, not pleasure); real siddhi = liberation; real bala = ātman's infinite power; real sukha = the plenitude of the guṇātīta. The āsurī has counterfeited each genuine quality with an ego-version — this is moha's deepest work.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
That enemy has been slain by me, and others also shall I slay. I am the Lord, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, I am powerful, I am happy. [1]
That enemy has been slain by me, and others also shall I slay. I am the Lord, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, powerful and happy. [4]
That enemy has been killed by me; I will kill others too. I am a lord; I am an enjoyer; I am perfect, powerful, and happy. [9]
That enemy has been slain by me, and others also shall I slay. I am lord, I am the enjoyer, I am successful, powerful, happy. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
A famously ambiguous verse: Duryodhana either boasts of limitless strength or admits hidden doubt.
The ignorant, faithless, doubting self is destroyed — no happiness in this world, the next, or anywhere.
Seers with sins destroyed, doubts cut, self-controlled, devoted to all beings' welfare — they attain brahma-nirvāṇa.
Equal in pleasure-pain, clod-stone-gold, agreeable-disagreeable, censure-praise — the guṇātīta abides in self.
The ego-apex: 'I am rich, well-born — who equals me? I'll sacrifice, give, rejoice.' — all deluded by ajñāna.
Self-complacent, stubborn, wealth-proud — they perform name-only sacrifices, ostentatiously ignoring śāstric ordinance.