Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 43

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

कामात्मानः स्वर्गपरा जन्मकर्मफलप्रदाम् ।
क्रियाविशेषबहुलां भोगैश्वर्यगतिं प्रति ॥

Transliteration

kāmātmānaḥ svargaparā janmakarmaphalapradām .
kriyāviśeṣabahulāṃ bhogaiśvaryagatiṃ prati ॥

Meaning

Full of desires, regarding heaven as the highest goal, they speak words that prescribe many special rites for attaining pleasure and power, and that yield rebirth as the fruit of action.

Word meanings

कामात्मानः – whose nature is desire
स्वर्गपराः – intent on heaven as the highest
जन्मकर्मफलप्रदाम् – yielding rebirth as the fruit of action
क्रियाविशेषबहुलाम् – abounding in special rites
भोगैश्वर्यगतिम् – the attainment of pleasure and power
प्रति – towards, for

Anvaya (word order)

(ते) कामात्मानः स्वर्गपराः (च सन्तः) जन्मकर्मफलप्रदां भोगैश्वर्यगतिं प्रति क्रियाविशेषबहुलां (वाचं प्रवदन्ति) ।

Explanation

Continuing the description of the previous verse, Krishna portrays the minds of these people. They are ‘kamatmanah’, people whose whole being is made of desire. And they are ‘svarga-parah’, for whom heaven is the highest aim.

Their speech is ‘kriya-vishesha-bahula’, crowded with rites, procedures and rituals of every kind. A separate rite for every desire: one for wealth, another for a son, a third for heaven. Their entire religious life is centred on ‘bhogaishvarya-gati’, the attainment of pleasure and power.

The key phrase is ‘janma-karma-phala-pradam’ — yielding rebirth as the fruit of action. This is the limit of such a path. Actions performed with desire certainly bear fruit, but that fruit is enjoyed in a new birth. Even heaven is not permanent; when merit is exhausted one returns to this world (as 9.21 says). So the cycle continues and liberation is never reached.

Ramanuja observes that such people, attached to the portion of the Vedas that yields small rewards, forget the supreme goal of human life — the attainment of the Self and of the Supreme. The verse invites us to examine the purpose behind our own prayers and religious acts.

Context

In 2.42 Krishna mentioned the flowery words of those who cling to the letter of the Vedas. Here He describes their desires and the fruit of their actions. In the next verse (2.44) He says that the intellect of such people cannot become steady in samadhi.

Life lesson

Examine the purpose of your religious practices and prayers. If they aim only at pleasure and power, they keep us bound in the cycle; it is action for inner growth that sets us free.

Key terms

Kamatma: one whose mind is filled with desire
Svarga-para: one who regards heaven as the highest goal
Bhogaishvarya: pleasure and power, enjoyment and dominion