Chapter 3, Verse 39
Karma Yoga — Sanskrit shloka, transliteration, word meanings, English translation, and commentary.
Original Sanskrit verse
Transliteration
Word meanings
āvṛitam—covered; jñānam—knowledge; etena—by this; jñāninaḥ—of the wise; nitya-vairiṇā—by the perpetual enemy; kāma-rūpeṇa—in the form of desires; kaunteya—Arjun the son of Kunti; duṣhpūreṇa—insatiable; analena—like fire; cha—and
English translation
O Arjuna, wisdom is enveloped by this constant enemy of the wise, in the form of desire, which is insatiable like fire.
— Swami Sivananda
Listen to Shloka 3.39
Commentary
Manu says; Desire can never be satiated or cooled down by the enjoyment ofobjects. But as fire blazes forth the more when fed with Ghee (melted butter) and wood; so it grows the more it feeds on the objects of enjoyment. If all the foodstuffs of the earth; all the precious metals; all the animals and all the beautiful women were to pass into the possession of one man endowed with desire; they would still fail to give him satisfaction. The ignorant man considers desire as his friend when he craves for objects. He welcomes desire for the gratification of the senses but the wise man knows from experience even before suffering the conseence that desire will bring only troubles and misery for him. So it is a constant enemy of the wise but not of the ignorant.
Commentary by Swami Sivananda
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