Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 7, Verse 25
नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः।
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम्।।
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम्।।
nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ
mūḍho ’yaṁ nābhijānāti loko mām ajam avyayam
also searched as "naham prakashah sarvasya yoga-maya-samavritah"
Translation
Veiled by my Maya, I am not manifest to all; this deluded world does not recognize me as the unborn and immutable.
Vāṇi's rendering
Veiled by my own power, I am not shown to all. The dazed world misses me — unborn, undying.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नna | not (joined with the next word by sandhi in nāhaṁ) |
| अहम्ahaṁ | I |
| प्रकाशःprakāśaḥ | shown, evident, open to sight |
| सर्वस्यsarvasya | to everyone, to all |
| योगमायासमावृतःyoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ | wrapped around by my own yoga-māyā, the power by which forms are spun and hidden |
| मूढःmūḍhaḥ | dazed, stupefied (becomes mūḍho before ayaṁ) |
| अयम्ayaṁ | this (the a elides after mūḍho, written 'yaṁ) |
| नna | not (joined with the next word in nābhijānāti) |
| अभिजानातिabhijānāti | recognizes, knows through and through |
| लोकःlokaḥ | the world, people |
| माम्mām | me |
| अजम्ajam | unborn |
| अव्ययम्avyayam | undying, never spent |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 25 mean?
Krishna states plainly that he is not on open display. His own yoga-māyā wraps him, so the world sees forms and misses the unborn, undying one holding them. The verse does not blame the seeker for failing an exam. It describes a veil, and names whose veil it is.
What does naham prakashah sarvasya mean in the Gita?
It means: I am not shown to all. Not withheld out of stinginess — veiled by the very power that makes a world visible. What lets you see everything else is what stands between you and Krishna. The seeing that reaches him is of a different kind altogether.
Why does Krishna call the world deluded here?
The word is mūḍha — dazed, not wicked. Someone standing in strong light who cannot make out the source. Arjuna spent years beside Krishna calling him cousin and friend. Delusion here is not error about facts. It is looking at the undying and registering only a face.
How can I recognize what is veiled in this way?
Not by effort of eye. Krishna spends the following chapters answering this, and the answer is devotion — the veil thins from his side, not yours. Meanwhile, stop treating recognition as a prize for the clever. Attend to whom you are turning toward, and keep turning.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna says the hiding is his own doing. Not the world's fault alone — the veil is his, made of yoga-māyā, the same power that spins out forms. So the seeking is not a matter of squinting harder. The world is called mūḍha, dazed, and Arjuna is being shown what he was moments ago: someone looking straight at Krishna and seeing a cousin, a charioteer, a friend. Nothing was withheld from him except recognition. You have stood in front of what you were looking for. Ask why you didn't see it — and whether looking is the right verb.