Verse 2.46

यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वतः सम्प्लुतोदके ।

तावान्सर्वेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य विजानतः ॥

2.46

Transliteration

yāvānartha udapāne sarvataḥ samplutodake |

tāvānsarveṣu vedeṣu brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

To the Brahmana who has known the Self, all the Vedas are of as much use as is a reservoir of water in a place where there is a flood.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

as much
use
in a well
everywhere
when flooded with water

so much
in all
in the Vedas
for the knower of Brahman
who truly knows

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

The verse uses an image of water. When the whole land is flooded, a small well has limited use. In the same way, for a brahmin who truly knows, the Vedas have only as much use as that well. The comparison has been read in different ways. Some see it as saying that the Vedas' purpose is fulfilled in realisation, others that the knower takes from scripture only what is needed. Either way, the verse ranks direct understanding above ritual gain.