Sanskrit
धूमेनाऽव्रियते वह्निर्यथाऽऽदर्शो मलेन च । यथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावृतम् ॥
dhūmenāvriyate vahnir yathādarśo malena ca yatholbenāvṛto garbhas tathā tenedam āvṛtam
Translation
As a flame is enveloped by smoke, as a mirror by dust, as an embryo is wrapped by the amnion, so This is enveloped by it.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Three similes in ascending order of how completely the covering obscures what’s underneath — smoke around fire is partial and visible, dust on a mirror is more total, and the amnion wrapping an embryo is a complete enclosure. It’s a deliberately escalating structure, not a random list, building toward verse 39’s claim that desire is an especially persistent, “constant” enemy of the wise specifically. Each image also implies a different remedy: smoke clears on its own, dust must be wiped, the caul must be broken from outside at term. The escalation says kāma’s hold varies in depth — and the deepest form does not simply lift.
Study deeper
Word by word
- dhūmenāvriyate vahnirधूमेनाव्रियते वह्निः
- as fire is veiled by smoke (dhūmena + āvriyate + vahniḥ)
- yathādarśo malena caयथादर्शो मलेन च
- and as a mirror by dust (yathā + ādarśaḥ + malena + ca)
- yatholbenāvṛto garbhasयथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्
- as an embryo is wrapped by the caul (yathā + ulbena + āvṛtaḥ + garbhaḥ)
- tathā tenedam āvṛtamतथा तेनेदं आवृतं
- so is this [knowledge] covered by that (tathā + tena + idam + āvṛtam)
Commentary
Site Commentary
All three images share something worth noticing beyond their escalating completeness: in every case, what’s covered is not damaged, only obscured. Smoke doesn’t put out the fire, dust doesn’t melt the mirror, the amnion doesn’t harm the embryo. The metaphor is quietly optimistic about what’s underneath, even as it escalates how thoroughly it’s currently hidden.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When a bad habit or clouded judgment feels total, remember this verse's quiet assumption: what's covered isn't damaged, just obscured — clarity that's currently hidden is still intact underneath, not destroyed.
Professional
- When a team's good judgment seems completely clouded by pressure or politics, assume the underlying competence is intact but obscured rather than gone — the fix is removing what's covering it, not rebuilding capability that was never actually lost.
Family & Social
- When someone you love seems completely overtaken by anger or a bad period, hold onto the idea that who they actually are is obscured, not gone — the covering can be thick without the thing underneath being damaged.
Ask yourself
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