विमूढा नानुपश्यन्ति पश्यन्ति ज्ञानचक्षुषः ॥
The deluded do not see the inner being departing, staying, or enjoying the world through the qualities. Those with the eye of understanding do see.
A core teaching · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“What changes is seen by the wise; the true self is not what moves.”
The deluded do not see the inner being departing, staying, or enjoying the world through the qualities. Those with the eye of understanding do see.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallydeparting · remaining · or · also · enjoying · or · endowed with the qualities · the deluded · not · perceive · see · those with the eye of knowledge
Ordinary sight cannot grasp the true self moving through bodies and experiences. Only clear understanding sees what is really happening.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Purushottama Yoga" (The Yoga of the Supreme Person).
Verse 10 sits in Chapter 15 of the Bhagavad Gita — Purushottama Yoga, "The Yoga of the Supreme Person". The chapter has 20 verses in total.
In a hospital ward, families watch the monitors and the body, waiting for change. Krishna says the departing self stays hidden from ordinary eyes, and the eye of understanding sees what is happening.
Did you like this verse?
The deluded miss the self leaving, staying and enjoying; those with the eye of wisdom see it.
What this verse means
Ordinary sight cannot grasp the true self moving through bodies and experiences. Only clear understanding sees what is really happening.
Context & commentary
With Arjuna frozen between duty and grief, Krishna explains that the true self is hidden from ordinary perception: it seems to move, stay, and enjoy through changing bodies, and wisdom alone can recognize it.
What it looks like today
In a hospital ward, families watch the monitors and the body, waiting for change. Krishna says the departing self stays hidden from ordinary eyes, and the eye of understanding sees what is happening.
“It brings relief from identifying with every passing role, state, or sensation.”
Explore related themes: gunas (47 verses), purushottama (14 verses)