5.15 Knowledge covered over Krishna speaks
नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभुः
अज्ञानेनावृतं ज्ञानं तेन मुह्यन्ति जन्तवः
nādatte kasyachit pāpaṁ na chaiva sukṛitaṁ vibhuḥ
ajñānenāvṛitaṁ jñānaṁ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ
The all-pervading takes on no one's wrongdoing and no one's good deeds. Knowledge is covered by ignorance, and by that people are deluded.
Explanation
Knowledge is not absent; it is covered.
The all-pervading takes on nobody's wrongdoing or merit. What goes wrong is stated differently: knowledge is covered over by ignorance, and that is what deludes.
The metaphor decides a lot. Nothing has to be acquired if the problem is an occlusion — which is why the next verse can reach for the sun.
Word by word
- na
- not
- ādatte
- accepts
- kasyachit
- anyone’s
- pāpam
- sin
- na
- not
- cha
- and
- eva
- certainly
- su-kṛitam
- virtuous deeds
- vibhuḥ
- the omnipresent God
- ajñānena
- by ignorance
- āvṛitam
- covered
- jñānam
- knowledge
- tena
- by that
- muhyanti
- are deluded
- jantavaḥ
- the living entities
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