Sanskrit
असौ मया हतः शत्रुर्हनिष्ये चापरानपि । ईश्वरोऽहमहं भोगी सिद्धोऽहं बलवान्सुखी ॥
asau mayā hataḥ śatrur haniṣye cāparān api īśvaro 'ham ahaṃ bhogī siddho 'ham balavān sukhī
Translation
"I have slain this enemy, and others also I shall slay. I am the Lord, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, powerful, happy;
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The monologue escalates from acquisition to domination: “I have slain this enemy, I will slay others, I am īśvara (lord), I am the enjoyer, accomplished, powerful, happy.” The self-application of īśvara is the sharpest word choice in the verse — it’s the term the Gita elsewhere reserves for the divine ruling principle, as in Chapter 15’s discussion of the Puruṣottama — and putting it in this speaker’s mouth is a quiet indictment: the deepest form of demonic delusion here isn’t cruelty for its own sake but self-deification, mistaking one’s own will for the ultimate authority. Everything else in the verse — enjoyment, accomplishment, power, happiness — is presented as a checklist already ticked off, with no room left for anything to be received rather than claimed.