Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 10, Verse 11
तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तमः।
नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता।।
नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता।।
teṣām evānukampārtham aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ
nāśayāmyātma-bhāva-stho jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā
also searched as "tesham evanukampartham aham ajnanajam tamah"
Translation
Out of compassion for them alone, I, abiding in their mental activity as its object, dispel the darkness born of ignorance with the brilliant lamp of knowledge.
Vāṇi's rendering
Out of tenderness, seated in every heart, I light the lamp of knowing and burn the dark away.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तेषाम्teṣām | for them — those steady, loving ones just described |
| एवeva | alone, for their sake only |
| अनुकम्पार्थम्anukampā-artham | out of tenderness, for compassion's sake (anukampā + artham; joined with eva as evānukampārtham) |
| अहम्aham | I |
| अज्ञानजम्ajñāna-jam | born of not-knowing |
| तमःtamaḥ | the darkness |
| नाशयामिnāśayāmi | I destroy, I put an end to (sandhi with the next word: nāśayāmyātma-) |
| आत्मभावस्थःātma-bhāva-sthaḥ | seated in their inmost being, abiding within the heart |
| ज्ञानदीपेनjñāna-dīpena | with the lamp of knowing |
| भास्वताbhāsvatā | shining, brilliant |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Verse 11 mean?
It means the darkness of not-knowing is not yours to defeat. Krishna says he himself removes it, out of anukampā — tenderness — and he does it from within, seated in the heart, not from some far height. Knowing arrives as a lamp is lit in a dark room: no struggle, only light where there was none.
What does tesham evanukampartham aham ajnanajam tamah teach about grace?
That grace has no cause outside itself. Krishna does not say he acts because they earned it; he says he acts out of tenderness for them. Their love made them available, not deserving. If you are waiting to be worthy before you turn toward him, you have misread the order of things.
Why does Krishna say he is seated in the heart rather than acting from outside?
Because ātma-bhāva-stha means the remover is already where the darkness is. Nothing has to travel to reach you. The dullness you feel in your own chest is not sealed off from him; he is nearer to it than you are. That nearness is the whole mechanism of the verse.
How do I get the lamp of knowledge lit in my own life?
You do not light it. You tend the conditions — steadiness, love, attention that keeps returning. The Gītā is plain that the flame is Krishna's to give. Your part is smaller and harder: stop trying to argue with your own darkness, and stay where the light can find you.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Notice who does the work here. The devotees Krishna has just praised are steady, loving, constant — and still they do not lift their own darkness. He does. He gives one reason, and it is not their merit: anukampā, tenderness. Not a reward for effort, not a wage. And he does not shine from a distance; he is already seated inside, nearer than the dark he removes. Darkness has no substance to fight. It ends the moment a lamp is lit. So what is asked of you is not to battle your confusion, but to keep the wick where the flame can reach it.