Sanskrit
तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तमः । नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता ॥ ११ ॥
teṣām evānukampārtham aham ajñānajaṃ tamaḥ nāśayāmy ātmabhāvastho jñānadīpena bhāsvatā
Translation
Out of pure compassion for them, dwelling within their Self, I destroy the ignorance-born darkness by the shining lamp of wisdom.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Completes the grace-sequence from verse 10 with the chapter’s most quoted image: Krishna, dwelling within the devotee (ātmabhāvastho), destroys ignorance-born darkness with “the shining lamp of wisdom.” The intervention is interior, not external — the same mode of inward presence the vibhuti list returns to under different names from verse 20 onward. Ātma-bhāva-stho jñāna-dīpena — “seated in their being, with the lamp of knowledge” — locates the grace inside the devotee. It is the same indwelling Krishna BG 10.20 will call “the Self seated in the heart of all beings.””
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Word by word
- teṣām evānukampārthamतेषां एवानुकंपार्थं
- out of compassion for them alone (teṣām + eva + anukampā-artham)
- aham ajñānajaṃ tamaḥअहं अज्ञानजं तमः
- I, the darkness born of ignorance (aham + ajñāna-jam + tamaḥ)
- nāśayāmy ātmabhāvasthoनाशयांय् आत्मभावस्थो
- destroy, dwelling in their being (nāśayāmi + ātma-bhāva-sthaḥ)
- jñānadīpena bhāsvatāज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता
- with the shining lamp of knowledge (jñāna-dīpena + bhāsvatā)
Commentary
Site Commentary
The darkness verse 11 destroys is dispelled from inside, not by a teaching arriving from somewhere outside the person — ātmabhāvastho, “dwelling within their self.” The lamp metaphor usually implies someone external holding the light up to a darkened room; here the one holding the lamp is already inside the very room it illuminates.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- When you're stuck in confusion, look first for the resource already inside you — memory of past clarity, your own settled values — before assuming the answer has to come from an outside authority. This verse pictures the light that dispels darkness as already dwelling within, not arriving from elsewhere.
Professional
- When a team is confused about direction, check whether the clarity they need is already present internally — a senior engineer's dormant insight, an old design doc — before importing an outside consultant to supply it. This verse locates the lamp of wisdom inside the very darkness it dispels.
Family & Social
- When someone in your family is struggling, remember your steady presence with them may matter more than an outside expert's advice — this verse pictures the light needed as already dwelling within, not arriving from outside. Sometimes what's needed is already there, just under-used.
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