धूमेनाव्रियते वह्निर्यथादर्शो मलेन च | यथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावृतम् ||३-३८||
dhūmenāvriyate vahniryathādarśo malena ca .
yatholbenāvṛto garbhastathā tenedamāvṛtam ||3-38||
As fire is enveloped by smoke, as a mirror by dust, and as an embryo by the amnion, so is this enveloped by that.
In simple words
Krishna uses three pictures to show how desire hides our true nature: "Like smoke covering a fire. Like dust covering a mirror. Like a womb covering an unborn child. That is how desire covers wisdom."
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
3.38 धूमेन by smoke? आव्रियते is enveloped? वह्निः fire? यथा as? आदर्शः a mirror? मलेन by dust? च and? यथा as? उल्बेन by the amnion? आवृतः enveloped? गर्भः embryo? तथा so? तेन by it? इदम् this? आवृतम् enveloped.Commentary This means the universe. This also means knowledge. That means desire.
Swami Chinmayananda
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.
Here, three illustrations are presented to explain how desire and anger obscure the faculty of our discernment. In the scriptures, this is considered a fault of repetition. However, in the Bhagavad Gita, this fault is not found. In the divine Bhagavad Gita, there is nowhere unnecessary or meaningless repetition. With this understanding, if one attempts to comprehend this verse, it becomes clear that there is a subtle distinction among all three illustrations presented here. Far greater meaning is conveyed in this verse than what appears on the surface.
Due to attachment to the transient objects of the world, the discriminative faculty of a human being becomes veiled. Our attachments or desires can be divided into three categories. The lowest level of desires are primarily for bodily pleasures. The second are our ambitions—to attain power, wealth, fame, and glory. Distinct from these is a third desire—for self-development and self-realization. These three types of desires, according to the predominance of the gunas, are called tamasic, rajasic, and sattvic respectively. Through three illustrations, the different types of veils arising from these three kinds of desires are clarified.
Just as fire's bright flame is partially or completely obscured by smoke—in the same way, sattvic desires also veil the radiance of the infinite Self.
Just as a mirror becomes obscured by dust—the veil that falls upon the intellect due to the disturbances arising from rajas is clarified through this example. Compared to the veil of smoke, dust on a mirror requires greater effort to remove. A mere gentle breeze disperses smoke, yet even a storm cannot clean a mirror. Only by wiping it with a clean, dry cloth can it be made clear. Even with smoke present, some light from the fire remains visible; but when a thick layer of dust has accumulated, no reflection appears in the mirror at all.
Just as an embryo in the womb—the base, animal-like worldly desires born of tamas completely veil the divine nature. This illustration is given to understand this. The child in the womb remains completely covered, and it is impossible to see it before birth. Here the veil is complete, and its removal requires a certain passage of time. Similarly, to remove the veil upon the intellect arising from tamasic desires, the soul must climb the ladder of evolution and wait for a long duration.
In this way, the different gradations of veils arising from these various types of desires are clarified.
In this verse, using only pronouns, it is said that by that, this is veiled. Now in the next verse, these two pronouns—"by that" and "this"—are clarified.