Shloka 10.11
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तमः |नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता ||१०-११||
teṣāmevānukampārthamahamajñānajaṃ tamaḥ . nāśayāmyātmabhāvastho jñānadīpena bhāsvatā ||10-11||
Meaning
By My grace, I live in their hearts; and I dispel the darkness of ignorance by the shining light of wisdom.
Translation: Shri Purohit Swami, The Geeta: The Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna (1935). Public domain.
Word-by-word meaning
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Explanation
This tender verse completes the movement of grace begun above. Out of pure compassion (anukampā), the Lord Himself, seated within the devotee's own heart (ātma-bhāva-stha), destroys the darkness of ignorance with the radiant lamp of knowledge (jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā).
The imagery is luminous and intimate: God is not a distant judge but an inner light. Ignorance is described as tamaḥ, darkness — and darkness needs no fighting, only light. The moment the lamp is lit, the shadows simply vanish.
Notice too that the Lord acts from within, not from without. The very Self of the devotee becomes the seat from which illumination dawns. Grace, in the end, is the discovery that the light we sought outside was burning within us all along.
In daily life
Divine grace works from within, dispelling ignorance as effortlessly as a lamp dispels darkness.
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Quick check
What does ‘आत्मभावस्थः’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on knowledge, in other chapters
- Verse 13.18The light by which you know everything already shines in your own heart, waiting to be recognised.
- Verse 11.49Behind the most fearsome face of Reality is a love that calls us out of fear and back into peace and gladness.
- Verse 5.15The Divine doesn't tally your sins and merits — your suffering comes from ignorance, and the cure is self-knowledge.
- Verse 7.26The Infinite cannot be captured by the measuring mind — it is known only through grace and surrender, never as an object.
Swipe left for 10.12 · When understanding ripens into realization, the heart's natural response is reverent praise.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 10.11
Who says Bhagavad Gita 10.11, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 10.11, in Chapter 10, Vibhuti Yoga (Vibhuti Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 10.11 mean?
By My grace, I live in their hearts; and I dispel the darkness of ignorance by the shining light of wisdom. (Translation: Shri Purohit Swami, The Geeta: The Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna (1935). Public domain.)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 10.11 for daily life?
Divine grace works from within, dispelling ignorance as effortlessly as a lamp dispels darkness.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 10.11 mean?
तेषाम् एव — for them alone; अनुकम्पार्थम् — out of compassion; अहम् — I; अज्ञानजं तमः — the darkness born of ignorance; नाशयामि — destroy.
Where does verse 10.11 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 11 of 42 in Chapter 10, Vibhuti Yoga. The next verse is 10.12.