GĪTĀ READER
Aa ▾

Text size

Layers

2.42Krishna
✎ FIX

यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चितः ।वेदवादरताः पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः ॥

yām imāṃ puṣpitāṃ vācaṃ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ |vedavādaratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ ||

याम् · yām
which
इमाम् · imām
this
पुष्पिताम् · puṣpitām
flowery, blossoming (showy but fruitless)
वाचम् · vācam
speech
प्रवदन्ति · pravadanti
utter, proclaim
अविपश्चितः · avipaścitaḥ
the undiscerning, foolish
वेदवादरताः · vedavādaratāḥ
delighting in Vedic phrases, attached to Vedic letter
पार्थ · pārtha
O Partha (Arjuna)
· na
not
अन्यत् · anyat
other, else
अस्ति · asti
there is
इति · iti
thus
वादिनः · vādinaḥ
declaring, asserting

The undiscerning utter flowery speech, O Partha — delighting in Vedic phrases, declaring there is nothing else.

Original plain-language translation

'Flowery speech' — blossoms without fruit. Krishna's critique is not of the Vedas but of their mercenary use: ritualism as career, scripture as sales-pitch for heaven. The sentence runs into 2.43; read them together.

Reader's notes (original)