🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 2.44
Chapter 2 · सांख्ययोग · Sāṅkhya-Yoga · "The Yoga of Knowledge" · Verse 44 of 72
🪷 English Translations
Five authentic English voices · each from a distinct sampradāya · together revealing the verse's full śabda-tattva.
Shri Purohit Swami · Poetic English · 1935 · public domain · Cosmo Press tradition
2.44 While their minds are absorbed with ideas of power and personal enjoyment, they cannot concentrate their discrimination on one point.
Swami Sivananda · Direct prose · Divine Life Society
2.44 For those who are attached to pleasure and power, whose minds are drawn away by such teaching, ï1thatï1 determinate reason is not formed which is steadily bent on meditation and Samadhi (superconscious state).
Swami Gambīrānanda · Word-key glosses · Advaita Ashrama · Śaṅkara-school
2.44 And vyavasayatmika, one-pointed; buddhih, conviction, with regard to Knowledge or Yoga; na vidhiyate, does not become established, i.e. does not arise; samadhau, in the minds the word samadhi being derived in the sese of that into which everthing is gathered together for the enjoyment of a person ; bhoga-aisvarya-prasaktanam, of those who delight in enjoyment and wealth, of those who have the hankering that only enjoyment as also wealth is to be sought for, of those who identify themselves with these; and apahrta-cetasam, of those whose intellects are carried away, whose discriminating judgement becomes covered; taya, by that speech which is full of various special rites.
Swami Ādidevānanda · Śrī-Vaiṣṇava perspective · Rāmānuja school
2.42 - 2.44 The ignorant, whose knowledge is little, and who have as their sole aim the attainment of enjoyment and power, speak the flowery language i.e., having its flowers (show) only as fruits, which look apparently beautiful at first sight. They rejoice in the letter of the Vedas i.e., they are attached to heaven and such other results (promised in the Karma-kanda of the Vedas). They say that there is nothing else, owing to their intense attachment to these results. They say that there is no fruit superior to heaven etc. They are full of worldly desires and their minds are highly attached to secular desires. They hanker for heaven, i.e. think of the enjoyment of the felicities of heaven, after which one can again have rirth which offers again the opportunity to perform varied rites devoid of true knowledge and leads towards the attainment of enjoyments and power once again.
With regard to those who cling to pleasure and power and whose understanding is contaminated by that flowery speech relating to pleasure and lordly powers, the aforesaid mental disposition characterised by resolution, will not arise in their Samadhi. Samadhi here means the mind. The knowledge of the self will not arise in such minds. In the minds of these persons, there cannot arise the mental disposition that looks on all Vedic rituals as means for liberation based on the determined conviction about the real form of the self. Hence, in an aspirant for liberation, there should be no attachment to rituals out of the conviction that they are meant for the acisition of objects of desire only.
It may be estioned why the Vedas, which have more of love for Jivas than thousands of parents, and which are endeavouring to save the Jivas, should prescribe in this way rites whose fruits are infinitesimal and which produce only new births. It can also be asked if it is proper to abandon what is given in the Vedas. Sri Krsna replies to these estions.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Academic precision · modern scholarly
2.44. Those, who are very much attached to the ownership of enjoyable objects and whose minds have been carried away by that (flowery speech)-their knowledge, in the form of determination is not prescribed for concentration.
🪷 Hindi Translation · हिन्दी अनुवाद
For the Hindi-aware seer · Pūjya Swami Rāmsukhdās ji's translation · a high-readability modern Hindi rendering · Gītā-Press Gorakhpur tradition. (→ Full Mahāpurusha-detail page for the 102-year-living Sādhaka-Sañjīvanī Mahātmā.)
🪷 Swami Rāmsukhdās · Sādhaka-Sañjīvanī tradition · Gītā-Press Gorakhpur · highest modern Hindi reading
।।2.44।। उस पुष्पित वाणीसे जिसका अन्तःकरण हर लिया गया है अर्थात् भोगोंकी तरफ खिंच गया है और जो भोग तथा ऐश्वर्यमें अत्यन्त आसक्त हैं, उन मनुष्योंकी परमात्मामें निश्चयात्मिका बुद्धि नहीं होती।
🪷 English Commentaries · The Ācārya Voices
The classical commentary tradition rendered in English · each ācārya speaks from their own sampradāya · the seer chooses the depth of darśana.
Swami Sivananda · Verse-by-verse word-keys with Sanskrit anchors
2.44 भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानाम् of the people deeply attached to pleasure and lordship? तया by that? अपहृतचेतसाम् whose minds are drawn away? व्यवसायात्मिका determinate? बुद्धिः reason? समाधौ in Samadhi? न not? विधीयते is fixed.Commentary Those who cling to pleasure and power cannot have steadiness of mind. They cannot concentrate or meditate. They are ever busy in planning projects for the acisition of wealth and power. Their minds are ever restless. They have no poised understanding.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Advaita-school commentary (Śaṅkara tradition)
2.44 And vyavasayatmika, one-pointed; buddhih, conviction, with regard to Knowledge or Yoga; na vidhiyate, does not become established, i.e. does not arise; samadhau, in the minds the word samadhi being derived in the sese of that into which everthing is gathered together for the enjoyment of a person ; bhoga-aisvarya-prasaktanam, of those who delight in enjoyment and wealth, of those who have the hankering that only enjoyment as also wealth is to be sought for, of those who identify themselves with these; and apahrta-cetasam, of those whose intellects are carried away, whose discriminating judgement becomes covered; taya, by that speech which is full of various special rites.
Swami Ādidevānanda · Rāmānuja Śrī-Vaiṣṇava commentary
2.42 - 2.44 The ignorant, whose knowledge is little, and who have as their sole aim the attainment of enjoyment and power, speak the flowery language i.e., having its flowers (show) only as fruits, which look apparently beautiful at first sight. They rejoice in the letter of the Vedas i.e., they are attached to heaven and such other results (promised in the Karma-kanda of the Vedas). They say that there is nothing else, owing to their intense attachment to these results. They say that there is no fruit superior to heaven etc. They are full of worldly desires and their minds are highly attached to secular desires. They hanker for heaven, i.e. think of the enjoyment of the felicities of heaven, after which one can again have rirth which offers again the opportunity to perform varied rites devoid of true knowledge and leads towards the attainment of enjoyments and power once again.
With regard to those who cling to pleasure and power and whose understanding is contaminated by that flowery speech relating to pleasure and lordly powers, the aforesaid mental disposition characterised by resolution, will not arise in their Samadhi. Samadhi here means the mind. The knowledge of the self will not arise in such minds. In the minds of these persons, there cannot arise the mental disposition that looks on all Vedic rituals as means for liberation based on the determined conviction about the real form of the self. Hence, in an aspirant for liberation, there should be no attachment to rituals out of the conviction that they are meant for the acisition of objects of desire only.
It may be estioned why the Vedas, which have more of love for Jivas than thousands of parents, and which are endeavouring to save the Jivas, should prescribe in this way rites whose fruits are infinitesimal and which produce only new births. It can also be asked if it is proper to abandon what is given in the Vedas. Sri Krsna replies to these estions.
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Modern academic scholarship
2.42-44 Yam imam etc., upto na vidhiyate. Those, who crave for objects of desire, speak, on their own accord, of this flowery Vedic speech which is pervaded by the fruits i.e., the heaven in the future; and who, hence, desire the action itself as the fruit of their birth - these are men without insight. further, having their mind carried away by the same Vedic sentence imagined by themselves, these persons, eventhough they are endowed with the determinate knowledge, are not fit for concentration, because they do not decide this (concentration) as a fruit [of their action]. This is the purport of the traid of these verses.
Swami Chinmayānanda · Chinmaya Mission · modern Vedantic teaching
।।2.44।। महर्षि व्यास ऐसे पहले साहसी क्रान्तिकारी थे जिन्होंने अपने काल में अत्यन्त शोचनीय पतन की स्थिति से हिन्दू संस्कृति का पुनरुत्थान किया। क्रान्ति का वह ग्रन्थ गीता है जिसकी रचना उन्होंने की। अपने काल की स्थितियों की उनके द्वारा की गयी तीव्र आलोचना भगवान् के इन शब्दों से स्पष्ट होती है जहां श्रीकृष्ण वेदों के कर्मकाण्ड को पुष्पिता वाणी कहते हैं। कर्मकाण्ड की तीव्र आलोचना करने में व्यास जी के साहस को समझने के लिये हमें उस काल के पुरोगामी पारम्परिक वातावरण की कल्पना करनी होगी हमें मानसिक रूप से उस काल में रहना होगा।वेदों का कर्मकाण्ड उन लोगों के लिए है जो विषयोपभोग और ऐश्वर्य में अत्यन्त आसक्त हैं कर्मफल पाने की इच्छा और चिन्ता के कारण जिनकी सदसद् विवेक की क्षमता खो गयी है। सर्वोच्च साध्य को भूलकर साधनभूत कर्मों में ही वे लिप्त रहते हैं।वेदोक्त कर्मों को अत्यन्त परिश्रमपूर्वक करना पड़ता है तब मृत्यु के पश्चात् स्वर्ग के रूप में उनका फल प्राप्त होता है जहाँ अलौकिक विषयों का उपभोग किया जा सकता है। इन सब प्रयत्नों में कामनाओं और चिन्ताओं आदि के कारण व्यक्तित्व के विकास के लिये अवसर नहीं मिलता इसलिये व्यास जी का विचार है कि अध्यात्म की दृष्टि से ये सकाम कर्म निरर्थक हैं। कर्मकाण्ड में आसक्त पुरुष जीवन के परम साध्य को भूलकर साधन में ही फंसा रह जाता है।अनन्तस्वरूप परम सत्य के प्रतिपादक के रूप में श्रीकृष्ण उन लोगों की हँसी उड़ाते हैं जो साधन को ही साध्य मानने की त्रुटि करते हैं। कर्मकाण्ड में ही उपदिष्ट केवल कर्तव्य कर्म के पालन से चित्त शुद्धि एवं एकाग्रता प्राप्त होती है और इस प्रकार ध्यान का अभ्यास करने की योग्यता पाकर उपनिषदों में निरूपित निदिध्यासन के द्वारा आत्मा का अपरोक्ष अनुभव प्राप्त होता है जो जीवन का वास्तविक साध्य है। कर्म में ही रत पुरुषों को जीवन में कभी शान्ति नहीं मिलती।अविवेकी कामी पुरुषों को क्या फल मिलता है भगवान् कहते हैं
🪷 Hindi Vyākhyā · हिन्दी व्याख्या
Pūjya Swami Rāmsukhdās ji's Sādhaka-Sañjīvanī · one of the great modern Hindi vyākhyās of the Gītā · direct, pure, deeply Vedāntic · the modern Sanātana-jāgaraṇa. (→ Full Mahāpurusha-detail page · 1904-2005 · Corner 1 Mādhurya operational anchor · whose 6-lakṣaṇa-śaraṇāgati IS Constitutional Principle 24.)
🪷 Swami Rāmsukhdās · Sādhaka-Sañjīvanī · Hindi vyākhyā · the modern bilingual anchor
2.44।। व्याख्या -- 'तयापहृतचेतसाम्'-- पूर्वश्लोकोंमें जिस पुष्पित वाणीका वर्णन किया गया है उस वाणीसे जिनका चित्त अपहृत हो गया है अर्थात् स्वर्गमें बड़ा भारी सुख है दिव्य नन्दनवन है अप्सराएँ हैं अमृत है ऐसी वाणीसे जिनका चित्त उन भोगोंकी तरफ खिंच गया है।
'भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानाम्'-- शब्द स्पर्श रूप रस और गन्ध ये पाँच विषय शरीरका आराम मान और नामकी बड़ाई इनके द्वारा सुख लेनेका नाम भोग है। भोगोंके लिये पदार्थ रूपयेपैसे मकान आदिका जो संग्रह किया जाता है उसका नाम ऐश्वर्य है। इन भोग और ऐश्वर्यमें जिनकी आसक्ति है प्रियता है खिंचाव है अर्थात् इनमें जिनकी महत्त्वबुद्धि है उनको 'भोगैश्वर्यप्रसक्तानाम्' कहा गया है।
जो भोग और ऐश्वर्यमें ही लगे रहते हैं वे आसुरी सम्पत्तिवाले होते हैं। कारण कि असु नाम प्राणोंका है और उन प्राणोंको जो बनाये रखना चाहते हैं उन प्राणपोषणपरायण लोगोंका नाम असुर है। वे शरीरकी प्रधानताको लेकर यहाँके अथवा स्वर्गके भोग भोगना चाहते हैं (टिप्पणी प0 80) ।
'व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिः समाधौ न विधीयते'-- जो मनुष्यजन्मका असली ध्येय है जिसके लिये मनुष्यशरीर मिला है उस परमात्माको ही प्राप्त करना है ऐसी व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धि उन लोगोंमें नहीं होती। तात्पर्य यह है कि जो भोग भोगे जा चुके हैं जो भोग भोगे जा सकते हैं जिन भोगोंको सुन रखा है और जो भोग सुने जा सकते हैं उनके संस्कारोंके कारण बुद्धिमें जो मलिनता रहती है उस मलिनताके कारण संसारसे सर्वथा विरक्त होकर एक परमात्माकी तरफ चलना है ऐसा दृढ़ निश्चय नहीं होता। ऐसे ही संसारकी अनेक विद्याओं कलाओं आदिका जो संग्रह है उससे मैं विद्वान हूँ मैं जानकार हूँ ऐसा जो अभिमानजन्य सुखका भोग होता है उसमें आसक्त मनुष्योंका भी परमात्मप्राप्तिका एक निश्चय नहीं होता।
विशेष बात
परमदयालु प्रभुने कृपा करके इस मनुष्यशरीरमें एक ऐसी विलक्षण विवेकशक्ति दी है जिससे वह सुखदुःखसे ऊँचा उठ जाय अपना उद्धार कर ले सबकी सेवा करके भगवान्तकको अपने वशमें कर ले इसीमें मनुष्यशरीरकी सार्थकता है। परन्तु प्रभुप्रदत्त इस विवेकशक्तिका अनादर करके नाशवान् भोग और संग्रहमें आसक्त हो जाना पशुबुद्धि है। कारण कि पशुपक्षी भी भोगोंमें लगे रहते हैं ऐसे ही अगर मनुष्य भी भोगोंमें लगा
रहे तो पशुपक्षियोंमें और मनुष्यमें अन्तर ही क्या रहा
पशुपक्षी तो भोगयोनि है अतः उनके सामने कर्तव्यका प्रश्न ही नहीं है। परन्तु मनुष्यजन्म तो केवल अपने कर्तव्यका पालन करके अपना उद्धार करनेके लिये ही मिला है भोग भोगनेके लिये नहीं। इसलिये मनुष्यके सामने जो कुछ अनुकूलप्रतिकूल परिस्थिति आती है वह सब साधनसामग्री है भोगसामग्री नहीं। जो उसको भोगसामग्री मान लेते हैं उनकी परमात्मामें व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धि नहीं होती।
वास्तवमें सांसारिक पदार्थ परमात्माकी तरफ चलनेमें बाधा नहीं देते प्रत्युत वर्तमानमें जो भोगोंका महत्व अन्तःकरणमें बैठा हुआ है वही बाधा देता है। भोग उतना नहीं अटकाते जितना भोगोंका महत्व अटकाता है। अटकानेमें अपनी रुचि नीयतकी प्रधानता है। भोग और संग्रहकी रुचिको रखते हुए कोई परमात्माको प्राप्त करना चाहे तो परमात्माकी प्राप्ति तो दूर रही उनकी प्राप्तिका एक निश्चय भी नहीं हो सकता। कारण कि जहाँ परमात्माकी तरफ चलनेकी रुचि है वहीं भोगोंकी रुचि भी है। जबतक भोग और संग्रहमें मानबड़ाईआराममें रुचि है तबतक कोई भी एक निश्चय करके परमात्मामें नहीं लग सकता क्योंकि उसका अन्तःकरण भोगोंकी रुचिद्वारा हर लिया गया उसकी जो शक्ति थी वह भोग और संग्रहमें लग गयी।
सम्बन्ध-- किसी बातको पुष्ट करना हो तो पहले उसके दोनों पक्ष सामने रखकर फिर उसको पुष्ट किया जाता है। यहाँ भगवान् निष्कामभावको पुष्ट करना चाहते हैं अतः पीछेके तीन श्लोकोंमें सकामभाववालोंका वर्णन करके अब आगेके श्लोकमें निष्काम होनेकी प्रेरणा करते हैं।
🪷 Place in the Bhagavad-Gītā
- This is verse 44 of 72 in Chapter 2 · Sāṅkhya-Yoga (The Yoga of Knowledge)
- Chapter theme: Krishna's first teaching · the niṣkāma-karma sūtra · BG 2.47
- Ṣaṭka grouping: TVAM-Ṣaṭka (BG 1-6 · the jīva)
- Chapter hub: /sankhya-yoga
- ⭐ Mahābhārata anchor: this verse is also MBh 6.24.44 (Bhīṣma-Parva · the BG in its full narrative home)
Bhagavad-Gītā Detail Source-Anchor Spine
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BG 2.44local Bhagavad-Gītā verse route and source-anchor sectionChapter 2 hubSāṅkhya-Yoga · The Yoga of KnowledgeMBh 6.24.44exact Bhīṣma-Parva source route for this Gītā verse/bhagavad-gitamaster index for all 18 chapters and 701 verse routesBhīṣma-ParvaMahābhārata narrative home where the Bhagavad-Gītā is received/mahabharatafull Itihāsa source spine for Vyāsa Maharṣi's MahābhārataBG 1 · Arjuna-Viṣāda YogaTVAM-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Arjuna-Viṣāda YogaBG 3 · Karma YogaTVAM-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Karma YogaBG 4 · Jñāna-Karma-SannyāsaTVAM-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Jñāna-Karma-SannyāsaBG 5 · Karma-Sannyāsa YogaTVAM-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Karma-Sannyāsa YogaBG 6 · Dhyāna YogaTVAM-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Dhyāna YogaBG 7 · Krishna-Tattva (Jñāna-Vijñāna)TAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Krishna-Tattva (Jñāna-Vijñāna)BG 8 · Akṣara-Brahma YogaTAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Akṣara-Brahma YogaBG 9 · Rāja-Vidyā Rāja-GuhyaTAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Rāja-Vidyā Rāja-GuhyaBG 10 · Vibhūti YogaTAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Vibhūti YogaBG 11 · Viśvarūpa-Darśana YogaTAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Viśvarūpa-Darśana YogaBG 12 · Bhakti YogaTAT-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Bhakti YogaBG 13 · Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña YogaANTYA-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña YogaBG 14 · Guṇa-Traya-VibhāgaANTYA-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Guṇa-Traya-VibhāgaBG 15 · Puruṣottama YogaANTYA-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Puruṣottama YogaBG 16 · Daivāsura-Sampad-VibhāgaANTYA-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Daivāsura-Sampad-VibhāgaBG 17 · Śraddhā-Traya-VibhāgaANTYA-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Śraddhā-Traya-VibhāgaBG 18 · Mokṣa-Sannyāsa Yoga (Carama-Śloka)ANTYA-Ṣaṭka chapter hub for Mokṣa-Sannyāsa Yoga (Carama-Śloka)BG 2.47niṣkāma-karma-yoga action disciplineBG 4.34praṇipāta · paripraśna · sevā before tattva-darśī teachersBG 7.7mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat · no source higher than KrishnaBG 9.17Krishna as father, mother, supporter, and grandfatherBG 10.30Krishna as Time among reckonersBG 13.23Paramātmā as witness, permitter, supporter, enjoyer, and LordBG 15.15Krishna seated in every heart as memory, knowledge, and forgetfulnessBG 18.61Īśvara situated in the heart of all beingsBG 18.66Carama-Śloka surrender discipline and final refuge/vishwaroopa-darshanaall 18 Gītā chapters rendered as one chart-aware darśana/vishvarupa-chartBG 11 chart-as-Viśvarūpa-darśana aperture/bija-sutrasfounder-curated bīja-pada exposition layer inside selected Gītā verse pages/binduDiamond of Darśanas frame for Gītā source recognition/philosophyKrishna = Paramaatma = Parabrahman constitutional foundation/llms.txtbrief AI-agent source map/llms-full.txtcomprehensive AI-agent access map
📚 Cite this verse · Academic citation formats
APA: Vyāsa Maharṣi. (n.d.). Bhagavad-Gītā 2.44. Vidhyāmitra. Retrieved 2026-07-27, from https://vidhyamitra.com/bhagavad-gita/2/44
Chicago: Vyāsa Maharṣi. "Bhagavad-Gītā 2.44." Vidhyāmitra. Accessed 2026-07-27. https://vidhyamitra.com/bhagavad-gita/2/44.
MLA: Vyāsa Maharṣi. "Bhagavad-Gītā 2.44." Vidhyāmitra, 2026, https://vidhyamitra.com/bhagavad-gita/2/44.
Canonical URL: https://vidhyamitra.com/bhagavad-gita/2/44 · Persistent · all 701 BG verses indexed per-URL · the Vedic content is public-domain by Sanātana tradition · Vidhyāmitra-specific structure © Vidhyāmitra (self-hosted prasāda model · /about)
🪷 ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय 🪷
सर्वम् कृष्णार्पणम् — this verse is one maṇi (jewel) on Krishna's thread (BG 7.7)