Bhagavad Gita BG 5.16
Chapter 5, Verse 16 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः । तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम् ॥
jnanena tu tad ajnanam yesham nashitam atmanah tesham aditya-vaj jnanam prakashayati tat param
Meaning
But for those in whom that ignorance of the Self has been destroyed by knowledge — for them, knowledge illumines the Supreme like the sun.
Understanding
The beautiful contrast to verse 15: for those in whom ajnana has been nashitam (destroyed, not just suppressed) by jnana — tat param aditya-vat prakashayati — knowledge illuminates the Supreme like the sun (aditya-vat). The sun metaphor: the sun doesn't create light — it IS light. Similarly, jnana reveals the Supreme not by finding it somewhere else, but by illuminating what was always present.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| तु | tu | but, on the other hand (contrast) |
| नाशितम् | nashitam | destroyed, completely eliminated |
| आदित्यवत् | aditya-vat | like the sun, as the sun does |
| प्रकाशयति | prakashayati | illuminates, reveals, lights up |
| तत्परम् | tat param | that Supreme, the highest reality |
| ज्ञानेन | jñānena | by knowledge / through wisdom |
| तद् | tad | that (ignorance) |
| अज्ञानम् | ajñānam | ignorance / nescience |
| येषाम् | yeṣām | of those / whose (ignorance is destroyed) |
| आत्मनः | ātmanaḥ | of the self / in themselves |
| तेषाम् | teṣām | for them / their |
| ज्ञानम् | jñānam | knowledge (shines like the sun) |