Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 11, Verse 29
यथा प्रदीप्तं ज्वलनं पतङ्गा
विशन्ति नाशाय समृद्धवेगाः।
तथैव नाशाय विशन्ति लोका
स्तवापि वक्त्राणि समृद्धवेगाः।।
विशन्ति नाशाय समृद्धवेगाः।
तथैव नाशाय विशन्ति लोका
स्तवापि वक्त्राणि समृद्धवेगाः।।
yathā pradīptaṁ jvalanaṁ pataṅgā
viśanti nāśāya samṛddha-vegāḥ
tathaiva nāśāya viśanti lokās
tavāpi vaktrāṇi samṛddha-vegāḥ
also searched as "yatha pradiptam jvalanam patanga"
Translation
As moths rush swiftly into a blazing fire, leading to their destruction, so do these men swiftly rush into Your mouths, leading to their destruction.
Vāṇi's rendering
As moths hurl themselves full speed into a blazing flame, the worlds hurl themselves into your mouths, and perish.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यथाyathā | just as |
| प्रदीप्तम्pradīptaṁ | blazing, flaring up |
| ज्वलनम्jvalanaṁ | fire, flame |
| पतङ्गाःpataṅgā(ḥ) | moths, winged insects (final visarga dropped before the next word) |
| विशन्तिviśanti | they enter, they rush in |
| नाशायnāśāya | toward destruction, to their perishing |
| समृद्धवेगाःsamṛddha-vegāḥ | at full speed, momentum swollen |
| तथाtathā | so too (joined with the next word as tathaiva) |
| एवeva | exactly, in just that way |
| नाशायnāśāya | toward destruction |
| विशन्तिviśanti | they enter |
| लोकाःlokā(s) | the worlds, all these peoples (visarga becomes s before tava) |
| तवtava | your |
| अपिapi | also, indeed |
| वक्त्राणिvaktrāṇi | mouths |
| समृद्धवेगाःsamṛddha-vegāḥ | at full speed |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Verse 29 mean?
It means the destruction Arjuna dreads is not being inflicted from outside. Like moths hurling themselves into a flame, the worlds move at their own speed into Krishna's mouths. The verse removes the question of blame and leaves only the movement — swift, willing, and complete.
What does yatha pradiptam jvalanam patanga teach?
It teaches that attraction and ruin can wear the same face. The moth is not hunted; it is drawn. Krishna shows Arjuna that the warriors on that field are already in flight toward what will consume them, and that no arrow of his begins or ends that flight.
Why does Krishna use the image of moths and fire?
Because it holds two things at once — brightness and burning. Arjuna needs to see that the pull is real, not imagined, and that the pull is fatal. Rivers moving to the sea show inevitability. Moths in flame add eagerness. Together they describe how the living meet their end.
Is this verse about fear or about surrender?
Both, in sequence. Fear comes first, and the Gītā does not hurry it away. But once you see that everything moves into that mouth anyway, the only remaining choice is how you go. Terror can become offering. The same word, samṛddha-vegāḥ, describes the moth and the devotee.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna is not being shown a punishment. He is being shown a physics. The moth does not hate itself; it is drawn, and the drawing is what kills it. Krishna gives the image twice in two verses — rivers to the sea, moths to the flame — because Arjuna keeps asking who is doing this. Nobody pushes the moth. The speed is its own. The armies at Kurukshetra are already moving at full speed toward the mouth that will take them. Notice what you are flying toward at full speed, and how bright it looks from here.