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Study a Verse
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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 3.39
आवृतं ज्ञानमेतेन ज्ञानिनो नित्यवैरिणा ।
कामरूपेण कौन्तेय दुष्पूरेणानलेन च ॥ ३९ ॥
āvṛtaṁ jñānam etena
jñānino nitya-vairiṇā
kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya
duṣpūreṇānalena ca
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.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Lust is the living entity’s eternal enemy. It covers pure consciousness and burns like a fire that is never satisfied.
Prabhupāda explains that sense enjoyment feeds lust like fuel feeds fire, keeping the living entity bound in the material world.
Do not expect sense enjoyment to satisfy lust; its apparent happiness strengthens this enemy.
Further characteristics of lust
Covers the living entities pure consciousness
Lust is never satisfied
Analogy: Never satisfied, like fire which is never satisfied by constant supply of fuel (Ref. Manu Smrti)
They foil one’s performance of duty, and incur sin
Regulate senses and strengthen intelligence to control lust
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: manas, indriya, yoga.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 3.39 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to mind & yoga?
Sit quietly for ten minutes and gently return the mind.
Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.