आवृतं ज्ञानमेतेन ज्ञानिनो नित्यवैरिणा । कामरूपेण कौन्तेय दुष्पूरेणानलेन च ॥
āvṛtaṃ jñānam etena jñānino nitya-vairiṇā | kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya duṣpūreṇānalena ca ||
Desire is the eternal enemy of the wise — insatiable as fire. Feeding it only makes it burn more.
Word by word (3)
- jñānam āvṛtam etena jñāninaḥ nitya-vairiṇā
- — knowledge is covered by this eternal enemy of the wise · Jñānam = knowledge. Āvṛtam = covered (same word as V38). Etena = by this (kāma). Jñāninaḥ = of the wise/knowledgeable. Nitya-vairiṇā = by the eternal enemy (nitya = eternal/constant; vairiṇā = by the enemy). Note: even the jñāni (knowledgeable) has this enemy. Wisdom does not automatically eliminate the enemy — it must be consciously engaged.
- kāma-rūpeṇa duṣpūreṇa analena
- — in the form of desire — insatiable like fire · Kāma-rūpa = having the form of desire (kāma + rūpa = form/nature). Duṣpūra = difficult to fill, insatiable (duṣ = difficult, pūra = filling). Anala = fire (also: the insatiable, from ana = breath + la = takes). Desire is like fire: the more you feed it, the more it burns.
- jñāninaḥ nitya-vairiṇā kaunteya
- — jñāninaḥ = of the jñāni/the wise (genitive — desire is the eternal enemy specifically of the one who KNOWS, not of the ignorant who don't know they are covered); nitya-vairiṇā = by the eternal enemy (nitya = eternal/constant; vairin = enemy; the enmity is not occasional but permanent — desire never stops opposing wisdom); kaunteya = O son of Kuntī — the address to Arjuna connects the universal principle to his personal situation: his own wisdom is under siege
Knowledge is covered by this eternal enemy of the wise, O Arjuna — desire in its various forms, insatiable as fire.
A modern analogy
Experienced meditators and practitioners know this: even after years of practice, craving for more experience, for deeper states, for recognition — can arise and cover the very clarity the practice has built. Duṣpūreṇa: insatiable. Every desire satisfied spawns a new one. The wise are not exempt — they face the same enemy at a more subtle level.
Take with you
- Nitya-vairiṇā — the eternal enemy. Desire does not become less dangerous as you advance; it becomes more subtle.
- Duṣpūreṇa — insatiable: no amount of satisfaction permanently quenches desire. This is crucial to understand.
- Even the jñāni has this enemy — the Gita does not offer an exemption based on knowledge alone.
- The instruction to come in V40-43: identify where desire resides and cut it at the root.
V39 intensifies V38's teaching with two significant additions: 1) jñāninaḥ nitya-vairiṇā — 'eternal enemy of the wise.' Even those with significant knowledge are not immune. 2) anala — fire — the insatiability of desire. Shankaracharya: offering more fuel to fire does not extinguish it but feeds it. Similarly, satisfying desire does not end desire but strengthens it. This is why the Gita's solution (V40-43) is not to satisfy desire wisely but to address desire at its root — which V40 will locate in the senses, mind, and intellect.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Wisdom is enveloped by this constant enemy of the wise, O son of Kunti, in the form of desire, insatiable as fire. [1]
O son of Kunti, wisdom is enveloped by this constant enemy of the wise, in the form of desire, which is insatiable as a fire. [4]
The wisdom of the wise, O son of Kunti, is enveloped by this their constant enemy in the form of desire, an insatiable fire. [6]
This is the enemy, O Son of Kunti! — this The hunger hard to satisfy, the sin That is the foe of wisdom. [7]
The wisdom of the wise, O son of Kunti, is enveloped by this constant enemy in the form of desire, which is as insatiable as fire. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Desire operates at all three levels — senses, mind, intellect. It covers knowledge at each and deludes completely.
Discipline removes the object but longing persists. Only direct experience of the Supreme removes the longing itself.
Elaborate rituals for pleasure and power lead to rebirth — not liberation. The cycle continues.
The eternal renunciant neither desires nor hates — free from all opposites, easily freed from bondage.
Rajas — passion, thirst, attachment — binds the embodied one specifically through attachment to action.
Free from pride, moha, attachment and desire, the dvandva-unbound, undeluded ones reach the imperishable goal.