आवृतं ज्ञानमेतेन ज्ञानिनो नित्यवैरिणा ।कामरूपेण कौन्तेय दुष्पूरेणानलेन च ॥
āvṛtaṃ jñānam etena jñānino nityavairiṇā |kāmarūpeṇa kaunteya duṣpūreṇānalena ca ||
- आवृतम् · āvṛtam
- enveloped
- ज्ञानम् · jñānam
- wisdom
- एतेन · etena
- by this
- ज्ञानिनः · jñāninaḥ
- of the wise
- नित्यवैरिणा · nityavairiṇā
- by the constant foe
- कामरूपेण · kāmarūpeṇa
- in the form of desire
- कौन्तेय · kaunteya
- O son of Kunti
- दुष्पूरेण · duṣpūreṇa
- hard to fill, insatiable
- अनलेन · analena
- by fire
- च · ca
- and
“Wisdom is enveloped by this constant foe of the wise, O son of Kunti — in the form of desire, insatiable as fire.”
— Original plain-language translation
Even the wise are its targets — learning alone does not disarm craving. Like fire fed with fuel, desire grows by indulgence rather than dying. Hence the Gita's strategy is mastery and redirection, never feeding the flame.
— Reader's notes (original)