Verse 7.20
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः | तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया ||२०||
Transliteration (IAST)
kāmaistaistaihṛtajñānāḥ prapadyante'nyadevatāḥ | taṁ taṁ niyamamāsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā ||20||
Word-by-Word Meanings
कामैः-by desires
हृतज्ञानाः-whose knowledge is carried away
प्रपद्यन्ते-surrender to
अन्यदेवताः-other gods
नियमम्-rules/disciplines
प्रकृत्या-by their own nature
Translation
Those whose knowledge is carried away by various desires surrender to other gods, following various rules and disciplines, driven by their own nature.
Commentary
Krishna explains why people worship lesser deities - their desires (kama) cloud their discrimination. This is not a condemnation of other worship but an explanation of its limitation. The phrase 'prakritya niyatah svaya' indicates that one's accumulated tendencies determine the form of worship one is drawn to.
Themes
bhaktijnana