📿 Shloka Collection

Avritam Jnanam Etena

Gita 3.39 Bhagavad Gita

📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3 — Karma Yoga

आवृतं ज्ञानमेतेन ज्ञानिनो नित्यवैरिणा ।

कामरूपेण कौन्तेय दुष्पूरेणानलेन च ॥

Avritam jnanam etena jnanino nitya vairina

Kama rupena Kaunteya dushpurena analena cha

Word-by-Word Meaning

आवृतम्

is covered

ज्ञानम् एतेन

knowledge, by this

ज्ञानिनः

of the wise

नित्यवैरिणा

the eternal enemy

कामरूपेण

in the form of desire

कौन्तेय

O son of Kunti (Arjuna)

दुष्पूरेण

insatiable

अनलेन

like fire

Explanation in Simple English

Not just the ignorant — even the wise are hounded by this enemy. Krishna calls desire the 'nitya vairi,' the perpetual adversary of the one who seeks knowledge. It does not rest. It does not retire. It returns again and again in different forms.

And it is 'dushpurena analena' — insatiable, like a fire that only grows hungrier the more you feed it. Pour ghee into a fire and it flares higher. Give desire what it asks for and it immediately asks for more. This is why the enemy cannot be appeased. It must be understood and overcome.

Context and Significance

This is the third verse in the sequence beginning at 3.37. The portrait of desire is now complete: it is the enemy, it covers knowledge, it takes the form of fire that can never be quenched.

Verse 3.40 will reveal exactly where this enemy resides: in the senses, the mind, and the intellect.

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