Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 16, Verse 14
असौ मया हतः शत्रुर्हनिष्ये चापरानपि।ईश्वरोऽहमहं भोगी सिद्धोऽहं बलवान्सुखी।।
asau mayā hataḥ śatrur haniṣye cāparān api
īśvaro ’ham ahaṁ bhogī siddho ’haṁ balavān sukhī
also searched as "asau maya hatah shatrur hanishye chaparan api"
Translation
'I have slain this enemy, and I shall slay others too. I am the Lord, the enjoyer, the successful one, the strong one, and the happy one.'
Vāṇi's rendering
That enemy I have destroyed; the rest will follow. I am the master here — accomplished, powerful, happy.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| असौasau | that one, that man over there |
| मयाmayā | by me |
| हतःhataḥ | has been struck down, killed |
| शत्रुःśatruḥ | enemy (appears as śatrur by sandhi before haniṣye) |
| हनिष्येhaniṣye | I shall kill |
| चca | and (joined as cāparān by sandhi) |
| अपरान्aparān | the others, the rest of them |
| अपिapi | also, too |
| ईश्वरःīśvaraḥ | master, one who rules |
| अहम्aham | I (elided to ’ham after īśvaraḥ) |
| अहम्aham | I |
| भोगीbhogī | one who enjoys, who takes his pleasure |
| सिद्धःsiddhaḥ | accomplished, one who has arrived |
| अहम्aham | I (elided to ’haṁ after siddhaḥ) |
| बलवान्balavān | strong, in possession of power |
| सुखीsukhī | happy, well-off |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16 Verse 14 mean?
It is a quotation, not a teaching. Krishna repeats aloud the inner speech of the āsura mind: one enemy down, more to come, and I am the master here. Every clause is a claim of ownership. The verse works by letting that voice condemn itself, without Krishna adding a word of judgement.
What does asau maya hatah shatrur hanishye chaparan api mean?
That enemy I have destroyed; the rest will follow. The tense matters — one killing already done, and the next already planned. Nothing in the sentence rests. A mind built on conquest can never finish conquering, because finishing would leave it with nothing to be.
Why does Krishna repeat aham three times in this verse?
Because that is the sound the verse is made of. Īśvaro 'ham, ahaṁ bhogī, siddho 'ham — the word for I keeps returning, propping up each new title. A settled man does not need to say it once. This one cannot stop saying it.
Is this verse only about violent or cruel people?
No. The battlefield language is vivid, but the pattern is ordinary. Anyone who names a rival, defeats them, and immediately looks for the next rival is speaking this verse. Krishna places it in chapter sixteen so you can hear it in your own mouth, in smaller words.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Count the I's. Three of them in one line, and each needs the next to prop it up — master, accomplished, powerful, happy. Krishna is not describing a monster. He is reciting, word for word, the sentence a mind speaks to itself after a win. The enemy is destroyed and already the eye moves to the rest; there is no arriving, only the next name on the list. That is the fear hidden inside the boast — a man who must keep killing to keep being someone. Listen for this voice in your own head after you have won something small.