Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 2, Verse 42
यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चितः।
वेदवादरताः पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः।।
वेदवादरताः पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः।।
yāmimāṁ puṣpitāṁ vācaṁ pravadanty-avipaścitaḥ
veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ
also searched as "yamimam puspitam vacam pravadanty avipascitah"
Translation
The undiscerning, O Partha, who delight in the letter of the Vedas and declare "there is nothing else," utter these flowery words.
Vāṇi's rendering
The unwise delight in ornate scripture-talk, insisting there is nothing more than ritual and its rewards.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| याम्yām | which |
| इमाम्imām | this |
| पुष्पिताम्puṣpitām | flowery, blossoming, ornate |
| वाचम्vācam | speech, talk |
| प्रवदन्तिpravadanti | they utter, they declare (sandhi with the next word) |
| अविपश्चितःavipaścitaḥ | the undiscerning, the unwise |
| वेदveda | the Veda |
| वादvāda | the letter, the wording, the arguing over it |
| रताःratāḥ | delighting in, attached to |
| पार्थpārtha | O Pārtha, son of Pṛthā |
| नna | not (joined by sandhi to the next word) |
| अन्यत्anyat | anything else |
| अस्तिasti | there is |
| इतिiti | thus, so |
| वादिनःvādinaḥ | those who say, the assertors |
| कामkāma | desire |
| आत्मानःātmānaḥ | whose very nature is (desire) — sandhi: kāma + ātmānaḥ |
| स्वर्गsvarga | heaven |
| पराःparāḥ | holding as highest, aiming at |
| जन्मjanma | birth |
| कर्मkarma | action |
| फलphala | fruit, result |
| प्रदाम्pradām | bestowing, yielding |
| क्रियाkriyā | rite, performance |
| विशेषviśeṣa | elaborate, of particular kinds |
| बहुलाम्bahulām | abounding in, crowded with |
| भोगbhoga | enjoyment |
| ऐश्वर्यaiśvarya | power, lordship (sandhi: bhoga + aiśvarya) |
| गतिम्gatim | attainment, destination |
| प्रतिprati | towards, directed at |
Frequently asked
Is Krishna rejecting the Vedas in this verse?
No. He is rejecting a posture toward them. The problem is not the Veda but veda-vāda-ratāḥ — delight in the wording, the debate, the recitation, treated as the whole of it. Krishna Himself will later call the Vedas His own. What He refuses is the claim that nothing exists beyond rites and their payouts.
What does pushpitam, 'flowery', actually mean here?
It carries the image of a tree in bloom that never sets fruit. The speech is lovely, elaborate, persuasive — and barren. It promises heaven, standing, enjoyment. What it cannot give is the steadiness Arjuna needs to stand up on the field, which is why Krishna sets it aside so bluntly.
Why is this said to Arjuna in the middle of a battlefield?
Because Arjuna has just been offered every reason to withdraw, dressed in fine moral language. Krishna is teaching him to hear the difference between speech that beautifies a desire and speech that tells the truth. That test does not end at Kurukshetra; it arrives in every argument you find suspiciously easy to agree with.
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Commentary
Krishna is not attacking scripture. He is naming a way of reading it — for reward, for the heavenly ledger, for the beautiful phrase that flatters the one reciting it. Flowery. The word is puṣpitām: blossom without fruit. Arjuna came asking what is right; these voices offer him a price list. Say the words, do the rite, collect the heaven. Nothing more exists, they insist — and that insistence is the whole error, not the ritual. You can do this with anything you believe. Recite it beautifully, argue it well, and never once let it ask something of you. Fruit comes later than blossom.