Chapter 5, Verse 16
ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः | तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम् ||५-१६||
jñānena tu tadajñānaṃ yeṣāṃ nāśitamātmanaḥ . teṣāmādityavajjñānaṃ prakāśayati tatparam ||5-16||
Meaning
5.16 But to those whose ignorance is destroyed by the knowledge of the Self, like the sun, knowledge reveals the Supreme (Brahman).
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Following directly from the previous verse, Krishna offers the cure for delusion. When the ignorance that veils the Self is destroyed by jnana — true self-knowledge — that very knowledge shines forth adityavat, like the sun, revealing tat param, the Supreme Reality.
The sun image is perfectly chosen. The sun does not create objects; it merely illumines what was always there, hidden in darkness. Likewise, knowledge does not manufacture Brahman; it simply removes the obscuring cloud of ignorance so that the ever-present Supreme becomes self-evident. The moment the inner darkness lifts, reality stands revealed in full clarity — not as something newly attained, but as something always present yet unseen. This is the optimistic heart of the teaching: liberation is the natural dawn that follows the night of ignorance.
💡 Key Takeaway
Self-knowledge is like sunrise — it doesn't create truth, it simply dispels the darkness so reality shines clear.
Related Verses
साङ्ख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः | एकमप्यास्थितः सम्यगुभयोर्विन्दते फलम् ||५-४||
sāṅkhyayogau pṛthagbālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ . ekamapyāsthitaḥ samyagubhayorvindate phalam ||5-4||
5.4 Children, not the wise, speak of knowledge and the Yoga of action or the performance of action as though they are distinct and different; he who is truly established in one obtains the fruits of both.
यत्साङ्ख्यैः प्राप्यते स्थानं तद्योगैरपि गम्यते | एकं साङ्ख्यं च योगं च यः पश्यति स पश्यति ||५-५||
yatsāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṃ tadyogairapi gamyate . ekaṃ sāṅkhyaṃ ca yogaṃ ca yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati ||5-5||
5.5 That place which is reached by the Sankhyas or the Jnanis is reached by the Yogis (Karma Yogis). He sees, who sees knowledge and the performance of action (Karma Yoga) as one.
संन्यासस्तु महाबाहो दुःखमाप्तुमयोगतः | योगयुक्तो मुनिर्ब्रह्म नचिरेणाधिगच्छति ||५-६||
saṃnyāsastu mahābāho duḥkhamāptumayogataḥ . yogayukto munirbrahma nacireṇādhigacchati ||5-6||
5.6 But renunciation, O mighty-armed Arjuna, is hard to attain without Yoga; the Yoga-harmonised sage ickly goes to Brahman.