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Bhagavad Gita · 3.39 · Path of Selfless Service·39 of 43

आवृतं ज्ञानमेतेन ज्ञानिनो नित्यवैरिणाकामरूपेण कौन्तेय दुष्पूरेणानलेन च

āvṛitaṁ jñānam etena jñānino nitya-vairiṇā

kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya duṣhpūreṇānalena cha

Sanskrit recitation

Desire as the inner enemy · 3.36–3.43 · Teaching

Translation

O Arjuna, wisdom is enveloped by this constant enemy of the wise, in the form of desire, which is insatiable like fire.

Meaning

Manu says, Desire can never be satiated or cooled down by the enjoyment ofobjects. But as fire blazes forth the more when fed with Ghee (melted butter) and wood, so it grows the more it feeds on the objects of enjoyment. If all the foodstuffs of the earth, all the precious metals, all the animals and all the beautiful women were to pass into the possession of one man endowed with desire, they would still fail to give him satisfaction.The ignorant man considers desire as his friend when he craves for objects. He welcomes desire for the gratification of the senses but the wise man knows from experience even before suffering the conseence that desire will bring only troubles and misery for him. So it is a constant enemy of the wise but not of the ignorant.

After Swami Sivananda

Desire as the inner enemy· 3.36–3.43

Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.

Word-by-word
cha
and
etena
by this
analena
like fire
jñānam
knowledge
kaunteya
Arjun the son of Kunti
āvṛitam
covered
jñāninaḥ
of the wise
duṣhpūreṇa
insatiable
kāma-rūpeṇa
in the form of desires
nitya-vairiṇā
by the perpetual enemy

Related verses

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