Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 3, Verse 39
आवृतं ज्ञानमेतेन ज्ञानिनो नित्यवैरिणा।
कामरूपेण कौन्तेय दुष्पूरेणानलेन च।।
कामरूपेण कौन्तेय दुष्पूरेणानलेन च।।
āvṛtaṁ jñānam etena jñānino nitya-vairiṇā
kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya duṣpūreṇānalena ca
also searched as "avritam jnanam etena jnanino nitya-vairina"
Translation
The knowledge of the intelligent self is enveloped by this constant enemy, O Arjuna, which is of the nature of desire and is difficult to gratify and insatiable.
Vāṇi's rendering
Craving is the wise one's constant enemy — a fire that feeds and is never filled, smothering knowledge.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आवृतम्āvṛtam | covered over, wrapped, smothered |
| ज्ञानम्jñānam | knowledge, the clear seeing |
| एतेनetena | by this |
| ज्ञानिनःjñāninaḥ | of the one who knows, of the wise (sandhi: jñānino before n) |
| नित्यवैरिणाnitya-vairiṇā | by the ever-present enemy, the foe that never leaves |
| कामरूपेणkāma-rūpeṇa | wearing the form of craving |
| कौन्तेयkaunteya | son of Kunti — Arjuna |
| दुष्पूरेणduṣpūreṇa | hard to fill, never filled (sandhi: duṣpūreṇānalena = duṣpūreṇa + analena) |
| अनलेनanalena | by fire — literally, the one that says 'not enough' |
| चca | and |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 39 mean?
It names craving as the standing enemy of the one who knows. Knowledge is not destroyed by it, only covered — like a lamp under cloth. And the craving is called analena, fire: whatever you feed it becomes fuel. Satisfaction does not end it. Satisfaction is how it eats.
What does avritam jnanam etena jnanino nitya-vairina teach?
That the enemy is constant, not occasional. Krishna does not promise Arjuna a day when craving stops arriving. He promises that it can be recognised. The wise are not those free of desire but those who no longer mistake it for their own voice.
Why is desire called the enemy of the wise and not of everyone?
Because only the wise experience it as opposition. Others simply obey it and call that living. The moment you feel torn — wanting a thing and knowing it will not settle you — you have crossed into the fight this verse describes. The discomfort is progress, not failure.
How can I stop desire from covering my clarity?
Not by fighting each want as it comes; there is no end to them. Watch the pattern instead. Notice that the last thing you got did not stay satisfying. That noticing is the cloth lifting slightly. Krishna's remedy in the next verse is to find where the fire is housed.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Not the fool's enemy — the wise one's. Krishna says this deliberately. The fool does not feel craving as an enemy; he simply follows it. The one who has begun to see is the one who feels the pull and calls it what it is. So knowledge does not end the fight; it starts it. And the enemy is a fire — every satisfaction is fuel, never food. You have noticed this. The thing you wanted last year, once had, went quiet, and something else lit. Krishna is not asking you to extinguish the fire. He is asking you to stop calling it hunger and start calling it smoke.