The fire of knowledge burns all sin like fog

The fire of knowledge is not a softened metaphor. Fire destroys — it does not reform, polish, or adapt. When the nature of reality is seen clearly, ignorance does not “improve”; it is consumed. Fog does not become fine mist; it vanishes when sunlight touches it. Vasiṣṭha uses this image repeatedly because it is precise: knowledge is not an antidote that counteracts the poison — it is a light that reveals the poison never existed.