Shloka 15

Devanagari script

अजुन उवाच कुर्या भूतानि तुष्टो5हं क्रुद्धो नाशं तथानये । कर्मणा मनसा वाचा न मत्तो5स्ति वरो द्विज:

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca kuryā bhūtāni tuṣṭo 'haṃ kruddho nāśaṃ tathānaye | karmaṇā manasā vācā na matto 'sti varo dvijaḥ ||

Translation

അർജുനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഞാൻ പ്രസന്നനായാൽ ജീവികളെ സൃഷ്ടിക്കാം; ക്രുദ്ധനായാൽ അവരുടെ നാശവും വരുത്താം. കർമ്മം, മനസ്, വാക്ക്—ഇവയാൽ എന്നേക്കാൾ ശ്രേഷ്ഠനായ ബ്രാഹ്മണൻ ആരുമില്ല.

Word by Word

• अर्जुनः: Arjuna (Kartavīrya Arjuna)
• अर्जुनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्जुन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, Third, Singular

• कुर्याः: I could do / I can do
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Optative, First, Singular

• भूतानि: beings / creatures
• भूतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• तुष्टः: pleased
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुष्ट
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अहम्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• क्रुद्धः: angry
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रुद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नाशम्: destruction
• नाशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तथा: thus / likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• आनये: I bring about / I cause
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी
• Form: Present, First, Singular

• कर्मणा: by action
• कर्मणा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• मनसा: by mind
• मनसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• वाचा: by speech
• वाचा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाच्
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• मत्तः: than me / from me
• मत्तः: Apadana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Ablative, Singular

• अस्ति: is
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular

• वरः: superior / better
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• द्विजः: a Brahmin (twice-born)
• द्विजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna (speaker)
• Dvija (brahmin/twice-born)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical danger of unchecked self-assertion: claiming supremacy in thought, word, and deed—especially over brahmins—signals pride and a misuse of power, which dharma literature repeatedly warns against.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker (identified here as Arjuna) boasts of near-cosmic power—creation when pleased and destruction when angered—and declares that no brahmin surpasses him in action, mind, or speech, reflecting a confrontational assertion of status and capability.