Bhagavad Gita 3.38
धूमेनाव्रियते वह्निर्यथादर्शो मलेन च । यथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावृतम् ॥
dhūmenāvriyate vahnir yathādarśo malena ca | yatholbenāvṛto garbhas tathā tenedam āvṛtam ||
Translation
As fire is enveloped by smoke, a mirror by dust, the foetus by the womb, so is this enveloped by that.
Reflection
Which of your obstructions can you wipe off, and which would you have to be born out of?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Three
Three images, ascending in intimacy. Fire and smoke: visible obstruction, easy to see through. Mirror and dust: closer obstruction, you do not notice the dust until you reach to wipe it. Fetus and amniotic sac: complete enclosure, the form fully contained by what wraps it. Tena idam āvṛtam, this is enveloped by that. That is desire. This is the wisdom that should be operating. Shankara reads the three images as three depths of kāma's grip: some easily cleared, some requiring deliberate attention, some so close they have to be born out of.