III k. The enemy of awareness (3.36-39)

Arjun uvaacha:
atha kena prayaktoyam paapam charati Purushah?
anichhannapi vaarshNeya balaadiva niyojayaat (3.36)

Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:
kaama esha krodha esha rajoguNasamudbhavam
mahaashanou mahaapaapma viddhyenamiha vairiNam (3.37)

dhoomenaavriyate vahniryathaadarshomalena cha
yatholbenavrutam garbhastathaa tenedamaavrutam (3.38)

aavruttam gnaanametena gnanino nityavairiNam
kaamaroopeNa kounteya dushpureNaanalena cha (3.39)

Alert by the words of One,
wondered Arjun
why and how
does even a smart person
get distracted in chasing short-sighted sins?
As if pushed by a dark force
even against their conscious will,
how come can they get shaken up
despite having cherished moments so still?

With an air of mystery
the master replied
stemming from restlessness
weakening the wisdom and insight
the feverishness to have and possess,
and this frustration-rage-despise-
In pushing one to enormous darkness,
do these devilish enemies delight...
just as smoke engulfs
a nascent fire in a campsite
or just as dirt lures away
the mind of the mirror
from reflecting pure light
or just as the embryo envelopes
the growing womb
so can this charring fire
of unruly desire
cloud even the wise mind...

Dr. Ramanand Prasad's version

Arjuna said: O Krishna, what impels one to commit sin as if unwillingly and forced against one's will? (3.36)

The Supreme Lord said: It is Kaama and anger born of Rajo Guna. Kaama is insatiable and is a great devil. Know this as the enemy. (3.37)

Kaama, the passionate desire for all sensual and material pleasures, becomes anger if it is unfulfilled. As the fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror by dust, and as an embryo by the amnion, similarly the Self-knowledge gets obscured by Kaama. (3.38)

O Arjuna, Jnana gets covered by this insatiable fire of Kaama, the eternal enemy of Jnani. (3.39)