Lord Krishna
Divine TeacherThe Supreme Lord, the charioteer and divine guide of Arjuna. Krishna delivers the eternal wisdom of the Gita, revealing the nature of the soul, duty, and the path to liberation.
Speaking: Chapter 16, Verse 15
Verse 15
The Yoga of the Divine and Demonic Natures
"I am wealthy and well-born. Who else is equal to me? I will perform sacrifice, I will give charity, I will rejoice." — deluded by ignorance.
Context & Meaning
The inner monologue takes on social dimensions. Wealth and birth (āḍhya — rich; abhijanavān — of noble lineage) are elevated into proofs of superiority: "Who else is equal to me?" Then, crucially, the demonic type resolves to perform sacrifice, give charity, and rejoice — actions that are outwardly virtuous. But notice: these are performed in the context of the monologue about personal superiority. They are not offerings born from love or dharma but performances of status, ways of reinforcing the fiction of one's own greatness. The scripture is clear that this is ajñāna-vimohita — complete delusion through ignorance. Ritual and charity, when performed from ego, are demonic activity wearing divine clothing.
Scholar Commentaries
1 commentary · Public domainMadhvacharya
DvaitaYakṣye dāsyāmi modiṣye — I will sacrifice, give, and rejoice. These are the three marks of the divine person — yajña, dāna, ānanda. But here they are corrupted by the motivation: not devotion to God, not love for others, not genuine spiritual joy, but the maintenance of social status and the performance of superiority. This is why motivation (bhāva) is so central to the Gita's ethics: the same external action can be divine or demonic depending on what drives it.