Shloka 33
Jñāna-hetu-nirūpaṇa
On the Causes/Means of Knowledge
अमूढभूता ज्ञानिनां सर्वदैव तथाज्ञानां ज्ञानहीनेति भाति / यावज्ज्ञानं चास्ति मे वास्तुदेव तावज्ज्ञानं वासुदेवस्य चास्ति
amūḍhabhūtā jñānināṃ sarvadaiva tathājñānāṃ jñānahīneti bhāti / yāvajjñānaṃ cāsti me vāstudeva tāvajjñānaṃ vāsudevasya cāsti
在智者眼中，我恒常显现为不迷妄者；在无明者眼中，我却似乎是无知之人。噢，Vāstudeva，只要我之中尚有智慧，那同一智慧亦存在于Vāsudeva之中。
Lord Vishnu (Vāsudeva) speaking to Garuda (Vinata-putra)
Concept: Perception of the speaker’s (and ultimately the Lord’s) nature depends on the observer’s jñāna; true knowledge is aligned with Vāsudeva.
Vedantic Theme: Jnana as the revealer of reality; ignorance as the cause of misapprehension; Vāsudeva as the ground of knowledge (jñāna-āśraya).
Application: Cultivate discrimination and scriptural study with devotion to Vāsudeva; test one’s understanding by whether it reduces delusion and stabilizes clarity.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.12.34-37 (gradation of knowledge; clarity vs. obscurity; liberation-time knowledge)
FAQs
This verse frames jñāna as the decisive factor in perception: the wise recognize the undeluded reality, while ignorance makes the same reality appear ‘without knowledge.’
It teaches that the object (the divine truth) is not changing; rather, the observer’s inner clarity determines whether the divine is perceived as illumined or as obscured.
Cultivate discernment through study, reflection, and disciplined living so that reactions born of confusion reduce and actions align with dharma.