|| 3.38 ||
धूमेनाव्रियते वह्निर्यथाऽऽदर्शो मलेन च। यथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावृतम्।।
dhūmenāvriyate vahnir yathādarśo malena ca yatholbenāvṛto garbhas tathā tenedam āvṛtam
Word by Word
dhūmena (by smoke) āvriyate (is covered) vahniḥ (fire) yathā (just as) ādarśaḥ (a mirror) malena (by dust) ca (and) yathā (just as) ulbena (by the womb) āvṛtaḥ (is covered) garbhaḥ (an embryo) tathā (so) tena (by that lust) idam (this knowledge) āvṛtam (is covered)
Translation
As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered by the womb, the living entity is similarly covered by different degrees of this lust.
Meaning
Kṛṣṇa uses three analogies to explain how lust covers our original spiritual knowledge. 1) Fire covered by smoke: A slight covering, where the light is still visible. 2) A mirror covered by dust: A thicker covering that requires cleaning to see the reflection. 3) An embryo covered by the womb: A total covering where the entity is completely helpless.
These represent different degrees of spiritual blindness. In some people, the soul is barely obscured; in others, it is completely forgotten. Regardless of the degree, the cause of the darkness is always the same: ‘Kāma’, or the selfish desire to exploit the world. This lust acts like a veil over our eyes.
The soul is naturally full of light and knowledge, but this light cannot shine through the ‘smoke and dust’ of our material cravings. Kṛṣṇa is showing Arjuna that his confusion is simply a result of this covering. To see clearly again, he must remove the layers of lust that are obscuring his inner wisdom.