Chapter 15, Verse 10
उत्क्रामन्तं स्थितं वापि भुञ्जानं वा गुणान्वितम् | विमूढा नानुपश्यन्ति पश्यन्ति ज्ञानचक्षुषः ||१५-१०||
utkrāmantaṃ sthitaṃ vāpi bhuñjānaṃ vā guṇānvitam . vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti paśyanti jñānacakṣuṣaḥ ||15-10||
Meaning
15.10 The deluded do not see Him Who departs, stays and enjoys; but they who possess the eye of knowledge behold Him.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna draws a sharp line between two ways of seeing. The same soul that departs at death, dwells within the living body, and experiences the world through the gunas is present and active before everyone — yet the vimūḍhāḥ, the deluded, completely fail to perceive it. Lost in identification with the body and its sensations, they see only the outer shell and miss the conscious presence within.
The difference is not in what is there to be seen, but in the instrument of seeing. Those endowed with the jñāna-cakṣus — the eye of knowledge — behold the indwelling soul clearly. This inner eye is not a physical faculty but the awakened discernment that comes from spiritual study, reflection, and practice. Krishna's message is quietly urgent: the truth of the Self is always present and available, but it remains invisible to a mind clouded by delusion. The work of the seeker is to develop this clearer vision.
💡 Key Takeaway
The indwelling Self is always present, but only the eye of knowledge can perceive it.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् | छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ||१५-१||
śrībhagavānuvāca . ūrdhvamūlamadhaḥśākhamaśvatthaṃ prāhuravyayam . chandāṃsi yasya parṇāni yastaṃ veda sa vedavit ||15-1||
15.1 The Blessed Lord said They (the wise) speak of the indestructible peepul tree having its root above and branches below, whose leaves are the metres or hymns: he who knows it is a knower of the Vedas.
न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा | अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूलं असङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ||१५-३||
na rūpamasyeha tathopalabhyate nānto na cādirna ca sampratiṣṭhā . aśvatthamenaṃ suvirūḍhamūlaṃ asaṅgaśastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā ||15-3||
15.3 Its form is not perceived here as such, neither its end nor its origin, nor its foundation nor resting place: having cut asunder this firmly rooted peepul tree with the strong axe of non-attachment.
निर्मानमोहा जितसङ्गदोषा अध्यात्मनित्या विनिवृत्तकामाः | द्वन्द्वैर्विमुक्ताः सुखदुःखसंज्ञैर्- गच्छन्त्यमूढाः पदमव्ययं तत् ||१५-५||
nirmānamohā jitasaṅgadoṣā adhyātmanityā vinivṛttakāmāḥ . dvandvairvimuktāḥ sukhaduḥkhasaṃjñaira- gacchantyamūḍhāḥ padamavyayaṃ tat ||15-5||
15.5 Free from pride and delusion, victorious over the evil of attachment, dwelling constantly in the Self, their desires having completely turned away, freed from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach the eternal goal.