Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 43
भगवद् गीता अध्याय 2 श्लोक 43

कामात्मानः स्वर्गपरा जन्मकर्मफलप्रदाम्।
क्रियाविशेषबहुलां भोगैश्वर्यगतिं प्रति।।2.43।।



English Translation - Swami Gambirananda
2.42-2.43 O son of Prtha, those undiscerning people who utter this flowery talk  which promises birth as a result of rites and duties, and is full of various special rites meant for the attainment of enjoyment and affluence , they remain engrossed in the utterances of the Vedas and declare that nothing else exists; their minds are full of desires and they have heaven as the goal.


English Translation of Ramanuja's Sanskrit Commentary
2.42 - 2.44 The ignorant, whose knowledge is little, and who have as their sole aim the attainment of enjoyment and power, speak the flowery language i.e., having its flowers (show) only as fruits, which look apparently beautiful at first sight. They rejoice in the letter of the Vedas i.e., they are attached to heaven and such other results (promised in the Karma-kanda of the Vedas). They say that there is nothing else, owing to their intense attachment to these results. They say that there is no fruit superior to heaven etc. They are full of worldly desires and their minds are highly attached to secular desires. They hanker for heaven, i.e. think of the enjoyment of the felicities of heaven, after which one can again have rirth which offers again the opportunity to perform varied rites devoid of true knowledge and leads towards the attainment of enjoyments and power once again.

With regard to those who cling to pleasure and power and whose understanding is contaminated by that flowery speech relating to pleasure and lordly powers, the aforesaid mental disposition characterised by resolution, will not arise in their Samadhi. Samadhi here means the mind. The knowledge of the self will not arise in such minds. In the minds of these persons, there cannot arise the mental disposition that looks on all Vedic rituals as means for liberation based on the determined conviction about the real form of the self. Hence, in an aspirant for liberation, there should be no attachment to rituals out of the conviction that they are meant for the acisition of objects of desire only.

It may be estioned why the Vedas, which have more of love for Jivas than thousands of parents, and which are endeavouring to save the Jivas, should prescribe in this way rites whose fruits are infinitesimal and which produce only new births. It can also be asked if it is proper to abandon what is given in the Vedas. Sri Krsna replies to these estions.


Transliteration Bhagavad Gita 2.43Kaamaatmaanah swargaparaa janmakarmaphalapradaam;
Kriyaavisheshabahulaam bhogaishwaryagatim prati.


Word Meanings Bhagavad Gita 2.43yām imām—all these; puṣhpitām—flowery; vācham—words; pravadanti—speak; avipaśhchitaḥ—those with limited understanding; veda-vāda-ratāḥ—attached to the flowery words of the Vedas; pārtha—Arjun, the son of Pritha; na anyat—no other; asti—is; iti—thus; vādinaḥ—advocate; kāma-ātmānaḥ—desirous of sensual pleasure; swarga-parāḥ—aiming to achieve the heavenly planets; janma-karma-phala—high birth and fruitive results; pradāṁ—awarding; kriyā-viśheṣha—pompous ritualistic ceremonies; bahulām—various; bhoga—gratification; aiśhwarya—luxury; gatim—progress; prati—toward