Bhagavad Gita BG 7.25
Chapter 7, Verse 25 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः । मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ॥
naham prakashash sarvasya yoga-maya-samavrtah mudho 'yam nabhijanati loko mam ajam avyayam
Meaning
I am not revealed to all, veiled by yoga-maya. This deluded world does not know Me as the unborn and imperishable.
Understanding
Having explained in verse 24 what the unintelligent THINK, this verse explains WHY they are confused: Krishna is veiled (samavrtah) by yoga-maya. 'Yoga-maya' is Krishna's own divine power — not ordinary maya (the illusion of the material world) but the specific veil that prevents direct perception of the Divine even when He walks among humans. 'Naham prakashash sarvasya' — I am not apparent/luminous (prakasha) to everyone. Why not? Because yoga-maya actively conceals. This is a deliberate divine arrangement, not an accident. The word 'loka' (world/people) is qualified as 'mudha' (deluded) — mudhah are those under the spell of yoga-maya. They 'nabhijanati' (do not recognize, do not come to know intimately) Krishna as 'ajam avyayam' — unborn (aja) and imperishable (avyayam). The unborn cannot die or decay. The world sees Krishna as a person who was born, who lives, who died — and thus misses His real nature entirely. Yoga-maya is not malicious concealment — it is the necessary veil that allows the ordinary drama of creation to unfold without the overwhelming presence of the Infinite collapsing it. The few who penetrate it do so by the grace of the very yoga-maya that veils.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| प्रकाशः | prakashash | apparent, revealed, luminous, manifest to perception |
| योगमायासमावृतः | yoga-maya-samavrtah | veiled/covered by yoga-maya (divine creative concealment) |
| नाभिजानाति | nabhijanati | does not know/recognize intimately (abhi-jna = to know thoroughly) |
| अजम् | ajam | unborn (a = not, ja = born) |
| अव्ययम् | avyayam | imperishable, undecaying, without loss |
| न | na | not |
| अहम् | aham | I |
| प्रकाशः | prakāśaḥ | manifest, revealed |
| सर्वस्य | sarvasya | to all |
| योग-माया-समावृतः | yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ | covered by My divine yogamaya |
| मूढः | mūḍhaḥ | foolish, deluded |
| अयम् | ayam | this |
| न | na | not |
| अभिजानाति | abhijānāti | knows |
| लोकः | lokaḥ | the world, people |
| माम् | mām | Me |