yathā–As; vahniḥ–fire; āvriyate–is covered; dhūmena–by smoke; yathā–as; ādarśaḥ–a mirror; (āvriyate)–is covered; malena–by dust; (yathā) cha–and as; garbhaḥ–the embryo; āvṛtaḥ–is covered; ulbena–by the womb; tathā–similarly; idam–one’s consciousness; āvṛtam–is covered; tena–by that desire. [38]

As fire is thinly veiled by smoke, as a mirror is thickly covered with dust, and as the embryo remains completely enclosed within the womb, similarly, this desire covers the consciousness of the living being (in these three degrees of intensity, according to the modes of material nature — goodness, passion, and ignorance respectively).