Devanagari
एवं व्यवसितं केचिदविज्ञाय कुबुद्धय: ।
फलश्रुतिं कुसुमितां न वेदज्ञा वदन्ति हि ॥ २६ ॥
Verse text
evaṁ vyavasitaṁ kecid
avijṣāya kubuddhayaḥ
phala-śrutiṁ kusumitāṁ
na veda-jṣā vadanti hi
Synonyms
evam
—
in this way
;
vyavasitam
—
the actual conclusion
;
kecit
—
some people
;
avijṣāya
—
not understanding
;
ku
—
buddhayaḥ — having perverted intelligence
;
phala
—
śrutim — the scriptural statements promising material rewards
;
kusumitām
—
flowery
;
na
—
do not
;
veda
—
jṣāḥ — those in full knowledge of the Vedas
;
vadanti
—
speak
;
hi
—
indeed .
Translation
Persons with perverted intelligence do not understand this actual purpose of Vedic knowledge and instead propagate as the highest Vedic truth the flowery statements of the Vedas that promise material rewards. Those in actual knowledge of the Vedas never speak in that way.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Some persons, not knowing the intention of the Vedas, speak of the attractive material results of karma, which are flowers and not fruit. They are fools. Those who know the Vedas do not speak in this way.
Why do the Mīmāṁsakas say that attaining Svarga is the highest goal? Not knowing the intention of the Vedas, they speak about the attractive results mentioned there as authoritative. Actually however those are the flowers, not the fruit. The results mentioned in the scriptures are flowers, not fruits. They mistake the flowers for the fruit. These persons are foolish. They do not know the goal of the Vedas, since those who know the Vedas such as Vyāsa do not say this.
Purport
The followers of the
karma-mīmāṁsā
philosophy declare that there is no eternal kingdom of God beyond this universe and that one should therefore become a professional performer of Vedic rituals in order to keep oneself in a material heavenly planet. As explained by the Lord to Śrī Uddhava in a previous chapter, there is no actual happiness in the material world, since one will inevitably rotate throughout the various planetary environments stretching from heaven to hell and thus always be disturbed within the material atmosphere. Although the doctor may give a child candy-covered medicine, one who urges the child to eat the candy and throw away the medicine is certainly a great fool. In the same way, the flowery statements of the
Vedas
describing heavenly enjoyment do not award the real fruit of Vedic knowledge but merely supply decorative blossoms of sense gratification. As stated in the
Vedas
(
Ṛg Veda
1.22.20),
tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ.
Even the demigods, who are permanent residents of heaven, are always looking to the eternal abode of the Supreme Lord. Foolish people who admire the standard of living in material heaven should therefore note that the demigods themselves are devotees of the Supreme Lord. One should not become a bogus propagator of so-called Vedic knowledge but should take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and make a genuine solution to the problem of progressing in life.