Bg. 3.39 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

आवृतं ज्ञानमेतेन ज्ञानिनो नित्यवैरिणा । कामरूपेण कौन्तेय दुष्पूरेणानलेन च ॥ ३९ ॥

Verse text

āvṛtaṁ jṣānam etena jṣānino nitya-vairiṇā kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya duṣpūreṇānalena ca

Synonyms

āvṛtam — covered ; jṣānam — pure consciousness ; etena — by this ; jṣāninaḥ — of the knower ; nitya-vairiṇā — by the eternal enemy ; kāma-rūpeṇa — in the form of lust ; kaunteya — O son of Kuntī ; duṣpūreṇa — never to be satisfied ; analena — by the fire ; ca — also.

Translation

Thus the wise living entity’s pure consciousness becomes covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

39. The knowledge of the knower is covered by this eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is like an unsatisfied fire.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

39. The knowledge of the jīva is covered by this constant enemy in the form of lust, which is like an unsatisfied fire.

Purport

It is said in the Manu-smṛti that lust cannot be satisfied by any amount of sense enjoyment, just as fire is never extinguished by a constant supply of fuel. In the material world, the center of all activities is sex, and thus this material world is called maithunya-āgāra, or the shackles of sex life. In the ordinary prison house, criminals are kept within bars; similarly, the criminals who are disobedient to the laws of the Lord are shackled by sex life. Advancement of material civilization on the basis of sense gratification means increasing the duration of the material existence of a living entity. Therefore, this lust is the symbol of ignorance by which the living entity is kept within the material world. While one enjoys sense gratification, it may be that there is some feeling of happiness, but actually that so-called feeling of happiness is the ultimate enemy of the sense enjoyer.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

This verse explains that lust is indeed ignorance of the jīva, for it covers the knowledge of the jīva. The phrase “eternal enemy” indicates that lust must by all means be killed. By this ignorance in the form of lust, compared to an unsatisfied fire, knowledge is covered. Ca means like in this sentence. It is said: na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām upabhogena śāṁyati haviṣā kṛṣṇa-vartmeva bhūya evābhivardhate As supplying butter to a fire does not diminish the fire but instead increases it more and more, the endeavor to stop lusty desires by continual enjoyment can never be successful. SB 9.19.14

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

This verse clarifies the meaning. The knowledge of the knowing entity, the jīva (jṣāninaḥ), is covered by its eternal enemy (nitya vairiṇā) in the form of lust (kāma rūpena). For the ignorant person, kāma is the friend because it gives happiness at the time of enjoying sense objects, though it is actually the enemy, since its ultimate effect is suffering. The person in knowledge however knows that even at the time of enjoyment it will become a cause of suffering, and thus it is called the constant enemy (nitya vairinā). Therefore this means that by all means it should be destroyed. Moreover, it also is like (ca) unsatisfied fire. Just as it is impossible to satisfy a fire by offerings, kāma cannot be satisfied by enjoyment. Thus the smṛti says: na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām upabhogena śāṁyati haviṣā kṛṣṇa-vartmeva bhūya evābhivardhate As supplying butter to a fire does not diminish the fire but instead increases it more and more, the endeavor to stop lusty desires by continual enjoyment can never be successful. SB 9.19.14 Therefore, it is the eternal enemy of everyone.