Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 5, Verse 16
ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः।
तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम्।।
तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम्।।
jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ
teṣām āditya-vaj jñānaṁ prakāśayati tat param
also searched as "jnanena tu tad ajnanam yesham nashitam atmanah"
Translation
But for those in whom this ignorance is destroyed by the knowledge of the Self, that knowledge, in their case, is supreme and shines brightly like the sun.
Vāṇi's rendering
Where self-knowledge has burned ignorance away, knowing blazes out like the sun and shows the highest.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ज्ञानेनjñānena | by knowledge |
| तुtu | but |
| तत्tat | that |
| अज्ञानम्ajñānam | ignorance (tad + ajñānam joined in the verse as tadajñānam) |
| येषाम्yeṣām | of those in whom |
| नाशितम्nāśitam | has been destroyed |
| आत्मनःātmanaḥ | of the Self |
| तेषाम्teṣām | for them |
| आदित्यवत्āditya-vat | like the sun (appears as āditya-vaj before the following j-) |
| ज्ञानम्jñānam | knowing |
| प्रकाशयतिprakāśayati | lights up, reveals |
| तत्tat | that |
| परम्param | highest |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 Verse 16 mean?
It means ignorance is a covering, not a lack. Where knowledge of the Self has burned that covering away, knowing shines of its own accord — like the sun, which needs no help to blaze — and what it lights up is not itself but the highest. Removal, not addition, is the work.
What does jnanena tu tad ajnanam yesham nashitam atmanah teach about ignorance?
That ajñāna is not stupidity and not a missing fact. It is an obscuring, the way cloud obscures light already there. Krishna does not tell Arjuna to acquire something foreign. He tells him what stands in the way can be destroyed — and that when it goes, seeing happens without effort.
Why does Krishna compare knowledge to the sun here?
Because the sun does not shine on request, and it does not shine on some things only. Once uncovered, it reveals everything within reach — including its own source of worth, tat param, the highest. Self-knowledge behaves the same way. You do not aim it. You simply stop shading it.
How do I apply this verse when I feel spiritually dull?
Stop trying to generate light. Ask instead what is covering it — a grievance held warm, a story about yourself repeated until it hardened, a busyness that leaves no room. Dullness is usually weather, not absence. The sun in you has not gone out. Look for the cloud, and let it move.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
The verse before this said knowing is covered over, the way cloud covers sun. Krishna keeps the image and turns it. The sun was never diminished; only hidden. So nothing has to be built in you — something has to be burned off. And notice what the light does once it is uncovered: it does not display itself. It shows the highest. A lamp you stop to admire is a poor lamp. Arjuna wants a teaching he can hold; he is handed a clearing instead. Whatever in you already knows is not waiting to be manufactured. It is waiting for the smoke to lift.