Sanskrit
धूमेनाऽव्रियते वह्निर्यथाऽऽदर्शो मलेन च । यथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावृतम् ॥
dhūmenāvriyate vahnir yathādarśo malena ca yatholbenāvṛto garbhas tathā tenedam āvṛtam
Translation
As a flame is enveloped by smoke, as a mirror by dust, as an embryo is wrapped by the amnion, so This is enveloped by it.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Three similes in ascending order of how completely the covering obscures what’s underneath — smoke around fire is partial and visible, dust on a mirror is more total, and the amnion wrapping an embryo is a complete enclosure. It’s a deliberately escalating structure, not a random list, building toward verse 39’s claim that desire is an especially persistent, “constant” enemy of the wise specifically.