SB 10.24.6 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

ज्ञात्वाज्ञात्वा च कर्माणि जनोऽयमनुतिष्ठति विदुष: कर्मसिद्धि: स्याद् यथा नाविदुषो भवेत् ॥ ६ ॥

Verse text

jṣatvājṣātvā ca karmāṇi jano ’yam anutiṣṭhati viduṣaḥ karma-siddhiḥ syād yathā nāviduṣo bhavet

Synonyms

jṣātvā — understanding ; ajṣātvā — not understanding ; ca — also ; karmāṇi — activities ; janaḥ — the common people ; ayam — these ; anutiṣṭhati — perform ; viduṣaḥ — for one who is wise ; karma — siddhiḥ — achievement of the intended goal of activity ; syāt — arises ; yathā — as ; na — not ; aviduṣaḥ — for one who is foolish ; bhavet — occurs .

Translation

When people in this world perform activities, sometimes they understand what they are doing and sometimes they don’t. Those who know what they are doing achieve success in their work, whereas ignorant people do not.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

When people in this world perform activities, sometimes they understand what they are doing and sometimes they don't. Those who know what they are doing achieve success in their work, whereas ignorant people do not. KB 10.24.6 All persons are engaged in fruitive activities. Some know what these activities are, and they know the result, and some execute activities without knowing the purpose or the result. A person who acts with full knowledge gets the full result; one who acts without knowledge does not get such a perfect result.

Purport

The Lord here informs His father that people should perform a particular ceremony or activity only after thoroughly understanding it through discussion with friends. We should not be blind followers of tradition. If a person doesn’t even know what he’s doing, how can he be successful in his work? This, essentially, is the Lord’s argument in this verse. Since Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as the young child of Nanda, would naturally be expected to show enthusiasm for His father’s religious activities, it was the father’s duty to give the son a thorough explanation of the ceremony.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

One should do ones activities by first understanding thoroughly, taking the advice and intelligence of ones intimate associates, rather than do things by imitation or custom. Activities refers to the worship and sacrifices that the farmers should perform, as well the the present and future results.

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

People perform activities of agriculture or sacrifice which produce present and future results, with knowledge, or only seeing present results (ajñātvā). Yathā means “accordingly.”

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

“You are certainly a friend, more than my life, but you are a child and are not qualified for mantras.” This verse answers (I should have knowledge.) People perform activities of agriculture or sacrifice which produce present and future results, with knowledge, or only seeing present results (ajñātvā). Those who know rightly get results (yathā). Or those who know get results and similarly those who do not know do not get results. But in either case the result is small. And the effort is useless in performing pious acts when there is no result at all. Vaktṛ-viśeṣa-niṣpṛhā guṇa-gṛhyā vacane vipaṣcitaḥ: when a speaker is without desire, he is endowed with all good qualities and is wise in speaking. Thus it is proper to perform your actions after consulting with me.