क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् ।अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते ॥
kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām |avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṃ dehavadbhir avāpyate ||
- क्लेशः · kleśaḥ
- hardship, toil
- अधिकतरः · adhikataraḥ
- greater
- अव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् · avyaktāsakta-cetasām
- of those whose minds cling to the unmanifest
- गतिः · gatiḥ
- the goal, course
- दुःखम् · duḥkham
- with difficulty, painfully
- देहवद्भिः · dehavadbhiḥ
- by the embodied
- अवाप्यते · avāpyate
- is attained
“Greater is the toil of those whose minds cling to the unmanifest, for the unmanifest goal is won painfully by embodied beings.”
— Original plain-language translation
Krishna's reason is psychological, not sectarian: embodied minds need a face to love. The formless is not denied — only noted as steep. This gentle pragmatism shapes the ladder of alternatives that follows.
— Reader's notes (original)