Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 52
Bhagavad Gītā 2.52: When the fog clears
यदा ते मोहकलिलं बुद्धिर्व्यतितरिष्यति ।
तदा गन्तासि निर्वेदं श्रोतव्यस्य श्रुतस्य च ॥
yadā te mohakalilaṃ buddhirvyatitariṣyati
tadā gantāsi nirvedaṃ śrotavyasya śrutasya ca
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
When your understanding crosses beyond the thicket of delusion, you will become indifferent to what has been heard and what is yet to be heard. Commentators take “heard” to include the many promises of reward in scripture (2.42–2.44); clear understanding no longer needs them.
For children
Krishna says: “When the fog in your mind goes away, you won’t get mixed up by all the different things people tell you.”
Kṛṣṇa describes the moment when understanding becomes clear and steady, leading into 2.53.
Word by word
यदा ते मोहकलिलं — When your mind crosses
- yadā: when
- moha: delusion, confusion
- kalila: thicket, dense tangle
बुद्धिर्व्यतितरिष्यति — the thick fog of confusion
- buddhi: understanding
- vyatitariṣyati: will cross beyond
तदा गन्तासि निर्वेदं — then you will no longer be moved
- tadā: then
- nirveda: indifference, freedom from interest
श्रोतव्यस्य श्रुतस्य च — by what you have heard or will hear
- śrotavya: what is yet to be heard
- śruta: what has been heard
Kṛṣṇa speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.