Verse 12.5
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् | अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते ||५||
Transliteration (IAST)
kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām | avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ dehavadbhir avāpyate ||5||
Word-by-Word Meanings
kleśaḥ-trouble/difficulty
adhikataraḥ-greater
avyakta-the unmanifest
āsakta-cetasām-of those whose minds are attached
gatiḥ-the goal/path
duḥkham-with difficulty
dehavadbhiḥ-by the embodied
Translation
Greater is the difficulty of those whose minds are set on the unmanifest, for the goal of the unmanifest is very hard to reach for embodied beings.
Commentary
This is Krishna's practical assessment: the impersonal path, while valid, is exceedingly difficult for embodied souls. Madhva argues this verse establishes a clear hierarchy - bhakti is not merely easier but ontologically superior. Shankaracharya, however, reads 'kleśa' as referring only to the difficulty of practice, not to any inferiority of the goal.
Themes
bhaktijnanayoga