Verse 7.20

कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः ।

तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया ॥

7.20

Transliteration

kāmaistaistairhṛtajñānāḥ prapadyante'nyadevatāḥ |

taṃ taṃ niyamamāsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā ||

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

Translation

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

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

by desires
by these
and those
bereft of knowledge
resort to
other deities

that
that
rule
following
by nature
led
their own

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

Explanation

Krishna now explains why many people worship other deities. Their understanding is carried away by particular desires, and following particular observances, they turn to the gods suited to those desires, guided by their own nature (prakṛti). The verse describes rather than condemns. People seek what their nature and wishes lead them to seek, and they choose forms of worship accordingly. This prepares for the next verses, in which Krishna says that he himself supports even such faith.