Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 7, Verse 20
कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः।
तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया।।
तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया।।
kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ
taṁ taṁ niyamam āsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā
also searched as "kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah prapadyante nya-devatah"
Translation
Controlled by their inherent nature, and deprived of knowledge by various desires, worldly-minded people resort to other gods, observing various disciplines.
Vāṇi's rendering
Their knowing carried off by cravings, people turn to lesser gods, each following the pull of their own nature.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कामैःkāmaiḥ | by cravings, by desires (appears as kāmais before the next word) |
| तैःtaiḥ | by those (appears as tais) |
| तैःtaiḥ | by those — the doubling means desire after desire, one kind and another (appears as tair) |
| हृत-ज्ञानाःhṛta-jñānāḥ | their knowing carried off, stolen away |
| प्रपद्यन्तेprapadyante | they turn to, take refuge in, throw themselves toward |
| अन्य-देवताःanya-devatāḥ | other gods, lesser powers (the initial a is elided after prapadyante) |
| तम्taṁ | that |
| तम्taṁ | that — repeated: this rule and that one, whichever fits the wanting |
| नियमम्niyamam | observance, discipline, prescribed rite |
| आस्थायāsthāya | having taken up, having adopted |
| प्रकृत्याprakṛtyā | by nature, by the grain a person is made along |
| नियताःniyatāḥ | held, constrained, pulled |
| स्वयाsvayā | their own |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 20 mean?
It describes a sequence, not a sin. Desire takes the knowing away first; only then does a person turn toward smaller powers and adopt whatever observance they demand. Krishna is showing you the order of events — the loss of clear seeing precedes the choice of where to bow.
What does kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah prapadyante mean?
Kāmaiḥ is by cravings, taiḥ taiḥ is by this one and that one, hṛta-jñānāḥ is knowing carried off. Prapadyante means they throw themselves toward. Read together: wanting empties the mind of discernment, and the emptied mind runs somewhere. The verb is the same one used for surrender — only the destination has changed.
Is Krishna condemning people who worship other gods?
No condemnation is spoken. Krishna says these seekers are niyatāḥ svayā prakṛtyā — held by their own nature. Nobody selects their temperament. What he points at is the shrinkage: a real discipline aimed at a small result. The devotion is genuine. The asking has simply not been examined.
How do I apply this verse in daily life?
Do not audit your rituals; audit your requests. Whatever you go to repeatedly with a demand has become a lesser god for you — a person, a position, an outcome. Watch how much clear seeing you spend getting there. Whatever your craving carried off is exactly what was worth keeping.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna is not scolding here. Craving arrives first, and knowing goes out with it — hṛta, carried off, the way a river takes soil. What remains still wants something, so it goes looking for whoever grants it, and takes up whatever rule that granting requires. The fasts are real, the discipline is real; only the aim has shrunk. Each is pulled by the grain of their own nature. So the question is not which god you approach but what was carried off before you approached. Look at what you are asking for. It will tell you who you have made small.