Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 42
Bhagavad Gītā 2.42: Flowery words
यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चितः ।
वेदवादरताः पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः ॥
yāmimāṃ puṣpitāṃ vācaṃ pravadantyavipaścitaḥ
vedavādaratāḥ pārtha nānyadastīti vādinaḥ
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
The unwise utter flowery speech, delighting in the letter of the Vedas and saying there is nothing else. This begins a three-verse sentence (2.42–2.44). Traditional commentators read it as a critique of treating Vedic ritual only as a means to pleasure and power, not as a rejection of the Vedas themselves.
For children
Krishna says: “Some people use pretty words to promise lots of nice things. But wise people look for what is truly good, not just what sounds nice.”
Kṛṣṇa contrasts the resolute mind of 2.41 with people whose minds are scattered by desire for rewards (2.42–2.44).
Word by word
यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचं — These flowery words
- puṣpita: flowery
- vāc: speech, words
प्रवदन्त्यविपश्चितः — that the unwise speak
- pravadanti: proclaim
- avipaścit: unwise
वेदवादरताः पार्थ — delighting in the letter of the Vedas, Arjuna
- vedavāda: the letter of the Vedas, Vedic statements
- rata: delighting in
नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः — saying, “There is nothing more than this”
- na anyat asti: there is nothing else
- vādin: one who says
Kṛṣṇa speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.