One resolve, not a hundred branches

Where we are

In the previous reading Krishna turned from argument to practice: hold gain and loss alike, and you begin yoga, where no effort is wasted. Now he describes the mind this builds. A resolute understanding is single; an unsettled one splits endlessly. Then he warns against flowery talk that promises heaven, pleasure and power.

The verses

1. 2.41

   On this path, joy of the Kurus, the resolute mind is single and focused. The minds of those without resolve split into many branches, with no end to them.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.41

   व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिरेकेह कुरुनन्दन ।
   बहुशाखा ह्यनन्ताश्च बुद्धयोऽव्यवसायिनाम् ॥ ४१ ॥

   Hear it

   vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kurunandana
   bahuśākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo 'vyavasāyinām

   Say it

   vyuh-vuh-saa-yaat-mi-kaa bud-dhir ay-kay-huh koo-roo-nun-duh-nuh
   buh-hoo-shaa-khaa hyuh-nun-taash-chuh bud-dhuh-yo-vyuh-vuh-saa-yi-naam

   Word by word

   vyavasāya-ātmikā

   resolute, decided in nature

   buddhiḥ ekā

   understanding that is one, single

   iha

   here, on this path

   kuru-nandana

   joy of the Kurus (Arjuna)

   bahu-śākhāḥ

   many-branched

   anantāḥ ca

   and endless

   buddhayaḥ avyavasāyinām

   the thoughts of the irresolute

2. 2.42

   There is a flowery kind of speech, son of Pṛthā, spoken by people without real insight. They delight in the bare words of scripture and insist that there is nothing more to it than that.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.42

   यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चितः ।
   वेदवादरताः पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः ॥ ४२ ॥

   Hear it

   yām imāṃ puṣpitāṃ vācaṃ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ
   vedavādaratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ

   Say it

   yaam-i-maam push-pi-taam vaa-chum pruh-vuh-dun-tyuh-vi-puh-shchi-tuh-hu
   vay-duh-vaa-duh-ruh-taa-hu paar-thuh naa-nyuh-dus-tee-ti vaa-di-nuh-hu

   Word by word

   yām imām puṣpitām vācam

   this flowery speech

   pravadanti

   they proclaim

   avipaścitaḥ

   those without true insight

   veda-vāda-ratāḥ

   delighting in the letter of the Vedas

   pārtha

   son of Pṛthā (Arjuna)

   na anyat asti iti vādinaḥ

   saying there is nothing beyond this

3. 2.43

   Driven by desire and fixed on heaven as the final prize, they praise elaborate rites that promise better births as the reward for action, all aimed at pleasure and power.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.43

   कामात्मानः स्वर्गपरा जन्मकर्मफलप्रदाम् ।
   क्रियाविशेषबहुलां भोगैश्वर्यगतिं प्रति ॥ ४३ ॥

   Hear it

   kāmātmānaḥ svargaparā janmakarmaphalapradām
   kriyāviśeṣabahulāṃ bhogaiśvaryagatiṃ prati

   Say it

   kaa-maat-maa-nuh-hu svur-guh-puh-raa jun-muh-kur-muh-phuh-luh-pruh-daam
   kri-yaa-vi-shay-shuh-buh-hoo-laam bho-gaish-vur-yuh-guh-tim pruh-ti

   Word by word

   kāma-ātmānaḥ

   full of desire

   svarga-parāḥ

   with heaven as their highest goal

   janma-karma-phala-pradām

   offering rebirth as the fruit of action

   kriyā-viśeṣa-bahulām

   crowded with special rites

   bhoga-aiśvarya-gatim prati

   aimed at pleasure and power

4. 2.44

   For those who cling to pleasure and power, whose minds have been carried away by that talk, the resolute understanding never settles into deep, steady focus.

   अShow the SanskritHide the Sanskrit for verse 2.44

   भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानां तयापहृतचेतसाम् ।
   व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिः समाधौ न विधीयते ॥ ४४ ॥

   Hear it

   bhogaiśvaryaprasaktānāṃ tayāpahṛtacetasām
   vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate

   Say it

   bho-gaish-vur-yuh-pruh-suk-taa-naam tuh-yaa-puh-hri-tuh-chay-tuh-saam
   vyuh-vuh-saa-yaat-mi-kaa bud-dhi-hi suh-maa-dhou nuh vi-dhee-yuh-tay

   Word by word

   bhoga-aiśvarya-prasaktānām

   of those clinging to pleasure and power

   tayā apahṛta-cetasām

   whose minds are carried off by it (that speech)

   vyavasāya-ātmikā buddhiḥ

   the resolute understanding

   samādhau

   in deep focus, settled stillness

   na vidhīyate

   does not take root

Context and commentary

The key word is vyavasāya, firm resolve. Krishna sets one decided understanding against the many-branched thinking of the undecided. In 2.42–44 he criticises treating ritual as a transaction: do the right rites, collect heaven and power. Interpretation: this is not a rejection of the Vedas, which the Gita draws on; Śaṅkara reads it as a warning that desire for results blocks knowledge, Rāmānuja as steering ritual to its true aim. Samādhi here means a settled mind, not yet the later meditative state.