ॐ

कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः। तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया।।7.20।।

kāmais tais tair hṛita-jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ taṁ taṁ niyamam āsthāya prakṛityā niyatāḥ svayā

Sanskrit Chant Recitation
Chapter 7, Verse 20
0:000:00

Scripture Translation Room

Sanskrit to English Translation

Translator:
Those whose wisdom has been taken away by this or that desire, go to other gods, following this or that rite, led by their own nature.

A Reading - Rantideb

Why: those whose wisdom is stolen by various desires take refuge in other gods, following various rites, according to their own nature, describing scattered devotion driven by specific, narrower cravings rather than a single, unified focus.

In life: chasing many different narrow goals simultaneously, money here, status there, comfort elsewhere, tends to scatter your energy compared to organizing your life around fewer, deeper commitments.

Teaching: notice if your own attention and effort is scattered across many narrow, competing goals, and consider consolidating around fewer, deeper commitments instead.

kāmaiḥby material desires
taiḥ taiḥby various
hṛita-jñānāḥwhose knowledge has been carried away
prapadyantesurrender
anyato other
devatāḥcelestial gods
tam tamthe various
niyamamrules and regulations
āsthāyafollowing
prakṛityāby nature
niyatāḥcontrolled
svayāby their own

Deep Classical Commentary (Bhashya)

Author:
7.20 कामैः by desires? तैः तैः by this or that? हृतज्ञानाः those whose wisdom has been rent away? प्रपद्यन्ते approach? अन्यदेवताः other gods? तम् तम् this or that? नियमम् rite? आस्थाय having followed? प्रकृत्या by nature? नियताः led? स्वया by ones own.Commentary Those who desire wealth? children? the (small) Siddhis? etc.? are deprived of discrimination. They devote themselves to other minor gods such as Indra? Mitra? Varuna? etc.? impelled or driven by their own nature or Samskaras acired in their previous births. They perform some kinds of rites to propitiate these lower deities. (Cf.IX.23)