Bhagavad Gita 5.16
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 16 of 29
ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः। तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत् परम्॥५-१६॥
jñānena tu tad ajñānaṃ yeṣāṃ nāśitam ātmanaḥ | teṣām ādityavaj jñānaṃ prakāśayati tat param || 5.16 ||
When knowledge destroys ignorance of the Self, it illumines the Supreme — like the sun dispelling darkness.
Word by word (7)
- jñānena
- — by knowledge / through Self-knowledge
- tu
- — but / however
- tad ajñānam
- — that ignorance (of the Self)
- yeṣām nāśitam ātmanaḥ
- — of those whose (ignorance) of the Self is destroyed
- ādityavat
- — like the sun / as the sun does
- jñānam prakāśayati
- — knowledge illumines / reveals
- tat param
- — that Supreme / the Highest Reality
But for those whose ignorance of the Self has been destroyed by knowledge, that knowledge, like the sun, lights up the Supreme.
A modern analogy
Turning on a light in a dark room. The furniture was always there — the darkness did not destroy it. The light reveals what ignorance concealed. Self-knowledge works the same way: the Self is always present; ajñāna conceals it; jñāna reveals it.
What it does NOT mean
Knowledge here does not mean book-learning or intellectual information. It means ātma-jñāna — direct knowledge of the Self. Such knowledge does not add something new; it removes the covering (ajñāna) that was hiding what was always already there.
Take with you
- The cause of suffering is not absence of the Self but the presence of ajñāna (ignorance) obscuring it — the solution is knowledge, not creation of something new.
- ādityavat (like the sun) — knowledge is not a gradual improvement but a revelation. When the sun rises, darkness is gone completely, not partially.
- This verse directly follows the teaching that ignorance veils knowledge and deludes all beings — and here is the antidote: the knowledge of the Self that destroys that ignorance.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
"But those whose ignorance of the Self is destroyed by knowledge — for them, that knowledge, like the sun, illumines the Supreme." [1]
"But to those whose ignorance of the Self is destroyed by knowledge, that knowledge, like the sun, reveals the Supreme (Brahman)." [4]
"But those whose ignorance is destroyed by the wisdom of the SELF, their wisdom, sun-like, illumines the Supreme." [5]
"But those whose ignorance of self is destroyed by wisdom, like the sun, wisdom reveals the Supreme." [6]
"But those whose darkness is dispelled by light of wisdom, who have their souls absorbed in Him, whose faith is set on Him — such go to where no more return is known, their sins washed white in knowledge." [7]
"But to those whose ignorance is destroyed by knowledge of the self, to them that knowledge, like the sun, reveals the supreme." [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The all-pervading Lord takes neither sin nor merit from anyone — ignorance veils knowledge and deludes all beings.
Nothing in this world purifies like jñāna. The karma-yogi finds it within themselves in time.
One yet appearing divided in all; sustaining yet devouring; creating yet consuming — this is the Knowable.
When intelligence-light shines through every sense-gate in this body — know that sattva is predominant.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Knowing this you will not fall into delusion again — you will see all beings in the Self, and thus in Me.
Verse 16 of 29 · back to Chapter 5