आढ्यो ऽभिजनवान् अस्मि को ऽन्यो ऽस्ति सदृशो मया । यक्ष्ये दास्यामि मोदिष्य इत्य् अज्ञानविमोहिताः ॥
āḍhyo 'bhijanavān asmi ko 'nyo 'sti sadṛśo mayā | yakṣye dāsyāmi modiṣya ity ajñāna-vimohitāḥ ||
The ego-apex: 'I am rich, well-born — who equals me? I'll sacrifice, give, rejoice.' — all deluded by ajñāna.
Word by word (3)
- āḍhyo 'bhijanavān asmi ko 'nyo 'sti sadṛśo mayā
- — I am wealthy (āḍhyaḥ), of noble birth (abhijanavān); who else (kaḥ anyaḥ) exists (asti) equal to me (sadṛśaḥ mayā)? — wealth + lineage as the status-claim, the rhetorical challenge
- yakṣye dāsyāmi modiṣye
- — I will sacrifice (yakṣye), I will give (dāsyāmi), I will rejoice (modiṣye) — the three acts of daivī-sampad (yajña, dāna, śānti) now performed for ego-display, not liberation
- ity ajñāna-vimohitāḥ
- — thus (iti) deluded/bewildered (vimohitāḥ) by ignorance (ajñāna) — the root diagnosis: all five verses (V13-15) of this monologue = ajñāna-vimoha in operation
'I am wealthy and well-born. Who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will give, I will be merry.' — thus deluded by ignorance.
A modern analogy
V15 shows the ultimate corruption: even virtuous acts (sacrifice, giving) can be hijacked by the ego. The āsurī doesn't refuse to do yajña and dāna — they DO them, but 'yakṣye dāsyāmi' serves 'ko 'nyo 'sti sadṛśo mayā' (who equals me?) The acts become performance pieces for the ego's status theater.
V15 closes the ego-monologue trilogy (V13-15) with a crucial irony: the āsurī is now performing the acts of the daivī path (yajña, dāna) — but from a completely inverted motive. The chapter closes this portrait by labeling the cause: ajñāna-vimohitāḥ. The next verses (V16-20) will describe the consequences. V13-15 as a unit is one of the Gita's most penetrating psychological passages — a complete inside view of the ego's self-justifying logic.
The phrase 'ajñāna-vimohitāḥ' at the END of the monologue reveals that all the confident 'I am' declarations are products of bewilderment. The āsurī doesn't know they're deluded — delusion is precisely the state of not seeing one's own confusion. This is the phenomenology of moha: it feels like certainty from the inside, like bewilderment only from the outside.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
I am rich and well-born. Who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will give, I will rejoice. Thus deluded by unwisdom. [1]
I am rich and well-born. Who else is there equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will give, I will rejoice. Thus deluded by ignorance, [4]
I am rich and of noble birth; who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will give, I will be happy — thus deluded by ignorance. [9]
I am happy, I am rich and of noble birth. Who else is there that is like me? I will sacrifice, I will make gifts, I will be merry, thus deluded by ignorance. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Self-complacent, stubborn, wealth-proud — they perform name-only sacrifices, ostentatiously ignoring śāstric ordinance.
Approach the teacher with prostration, inquiry, and service. The knowers of truth will instruct you in jñāna.
The ego-monologue: 'I gained this today. I'll get that next. This is mine — and more wealth will be mine too.'
Daivī wealth begins: abhaya, sattva-śuddhi, jñāna-yoga, dāna, dama, yajña, svādhyāya, tapa, ārjava.
Where yogeśvara Kṛṣṇa is, where archer Pārtha stands — there abide fortune, victory, flourishing, and steadfast dharma.
The sound of righteous forces pierces the hearts of those who know they are on the wrong side.