Good actions need pure intention.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
आढ्योऽभिजनवानस्मि कोऽन्योऽस्ति सदृशो मया |यक्ष्ये दास्यामि मोदिष्य इत्यज्ञानविमोहिताः ||१६-१५||
āḍhyo.abhijanavānasmi ko.anyo.asti sadṛśo mayā . yakṣye dāsyāmi modiṣya ityajñānavimohitāḥ ||16-15||
Use this verse before public acts of charity or devotion.
Meaning
I am wealthy and well-born. Who else is equal to me? I will perform sacrifices, give charity, and enjoy. Thus they are deluded by ignorance.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Even religious or charitable acts can become ego-display.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna warns that status can hijack spirituality. Charity, ritual, and joy become impure when performed for superiority, branding, or self-worship.
Read the traditional commentary
The boasting continues, now flaunting wealth and pedigree: 'I am rich, I am nobly born — who can compare with me?' Even the sacred acts of yajna (sacrifice) and dana (charity) are recruited into the ego's display. 'I shall sacrifice, I shall give, I shall rejoice' — but these are spoken as conquests, performances to enhance the self rather than offerings that dissolve it.
Krishna seals the verse with a diagnosis: ajnana-vimohitah, deluded by ignorance. Herein lies a subtle and sobering teaching — that even virtuous-seeming deeds, charity and worship themselves, can be poisoned at the root by pride. What matters is not only the outward act but the inner stance behind it.
When 'I' am the center even of my giving, generosity becomes another ornament of ego. The same deed can elevate or entrap, depending entirely on whether the self is being offered up or puffed up.
In daily life
Check whether your giving is service or self-display.
A donor may give publicly for applause rather than compassion.
Try this today
Do one good act without announcing it.
I serve without needing superiority.Reflect
Is my good action secretly feeding pride?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘यक्ष्ये’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on ignorance, in other chapters
- Verse 7.15What closes the heart to the Divine is not fate but a chosen pride — and humility is the first crack of light.
- Verse 9.12When striving is rooted in ego and cut off from a deeper purpose, even our cleverest efforts tend to come to nothing.
- Verse 4.40Chronic, trustless doubt paralyzes the soul and steals all peace; sincere faith, not blind belief, is what allows us to move forward.
- Verse 5.15The Divine doesn't tally your sins and merits — your suffering comes from ignorance, and the cure is self-knowledge.
Swipe left for 16.16 · A scattered desire-driven mind creates suffering.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 16.15
Who says Bhagavad Gita 16.15, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 16.15, in Chapter 16, Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga (Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 16.15 mean?
I am wealthy and well-born. Who else is equal to me? I will perform sacrifices, give charity, and enjoy. Thus they are deluded by ignorance. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 16.15 for daily life?
Check whether your giving is service or self-display. A donor may give publicly for applause rather than compassion.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 16.15 mean?
आढ्यः — rich, wealthy; अभिजनवान् — of noble birth, well-born; अस्मि — I am; कः अन्यः अस्ति सदृशः मया — who else is equal to me; यक्ष्ये — I shall perform sacrifices.
Where does verse 16.15 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 15 of 24 in Chapter 16, Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 16.16.