BG 2.41 — Sāṅkhya-Yoga — Sūtrakṛt-Gītā

Bhagavad Gītā 2.41Chapter 2 · Sāṅkhya-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिरेकेह कुरुनन्दन ।

बहुशाखा ह्यनन्ताश् च बुद्धयो ऽव्यवसायिनाम् ॥

vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana

bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo 'vyavasāyinām

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

One resolute mind works here, Arjuna; the irresolute have endless branching thoughts, scattered in every direction.

ekras · bhāṣya

The contrast is sharp. The resolute mind is one; the irresolute mind is many. Vyavasaya means determination, settled commitment, the kind of certainty that does not move with each passing thought. Avyavasayinam — those without it — have buddhis that are bahu-shakha, many-branched, and ananta, endless. The picture is exact. A mind without inner resolution generates a new branch of consideration every time a new factor presents itself. Each branch has its own sub-branches. Each sub-branch has its own. The structure expands forever and never closes. Action becomes impossible because the mind never reaches a point from which to act.

Madhusudana points out the unity of teaching across all four ashramas — the single vyavasayatmika buddhi, certainty about atma-tattva, is the one common ground for the householder, the student, the renunciate, the forest-dweller. Different ways of life; one inner condition.

Ramanuja sharpens it for the practitioner. Among all the actions that shastra prescribes, the seeker has one buddhi — grounded in the prior nishcaya about atma-yathatmya, the true nature of the self. The action then issues from that one settled center. The verse is also doing diagnostic work on Arjuna. His paralysis of the past two chapters was exactly the avyavasaya state — branch upon branch upon branch of consideration: family, dharma, society, sin, karma, svarga, infamy. Each branch was true on its own; the multiplicity was the disease.

Krishna is offering the cure: a single resolute buddhi from which the action proceeds, no matter which branch of worry the mind raises.

Context

where

Chapter 2 · Sāṅkhya-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 2.40

No effort you put into this path is ever lost, and no harm comes from leaving it unfinished. Even a little of this practice shelters you from great fear.

What's going on

One resolute mind works here, Arjuna; the irresolute have endless branching thoughts, scattered in every direction.

Sūtras through this verse (111)

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulebetween

2.18'Imperishable' is said to mark off the Lord.───→here2.41───→4.24Every word for ritual points back to Viṣṇu.

RamsukhdasclassicalE

Your own work as worshipbetween

2.33Refusal is not safe; it costs everything.───→here2.41───→3.35Your own flawed work beats another's perfect.

ĀnandagiriclassicalA

The two-niṣṭhā axisbetween

2.39Wisdom closes, action opens. Same axis.───→here2.41───→3.3Three classes, one niṣṭhā each.

show all 111

RamsukhdasclassicalF

Surrender — the single shelterstation · anchor

───→here2.41───→

Madhvaclassicalmadhva_pratibimba

Madhva Pratibimbabetween · other

2.18Image perishes, source endures───→here2.41───→4.13Creates yet uncreated

MadhvaclassicalT2

Soul depends on Lord — the gap that does not closebetween

2.20The soul is conscious but only as reflection.───→here2.41───→3.27Action is the modes'; the soul only seems to act.

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesbetween

2.23Even great gods are unequal in their glory.───→here2.41───→2.50Even in liberation the rank stays in place.

MadhvaclassicalT5

Mirror-and-image — how seeming-action worksbetween

2.18The image perishes, but the source endures.───→here2.41───→4.13He creates and yet is uncreated by it.

MadhvaclassicalT6

Citation is the spine — texts carry the loadbetween

2.23Nāradīya names what reason cannot prove.───→here2.41───→2.50Six texts in thirty lines carry the long excursus.

MadhvaclassicalT7

Action and knowledge — never rivalsbetween

2.39The two paths name one practice, one fruit.───→here2.41───→2.49Action without wisdom is the lower zone.

MadhvaclassicalT9

Devotion and grace — what knowledge cannot do alonebetween

2.23Without worship of Hari no one ever crosses.───→here2.41───→2.50Even in liberation grace remains the agent.

MadhvaclassicalT11

Only revealed scripture decides — reason alone cannotbetween

2.24When two scriptures clash the higher one rules.───→here2.41───→2.72Akṣapāda and Kaṇāda are simply ruled out.

MadhvaclassicalT4

Liberation is bliss in body — not absorptionapproach

───→here2.41───→2.50Release is embodied, blissful, never merging.

MadhvaclassicalT8

Direct vision — the only proximate causeapproach

───→here2.41───→2.46Scripture is a small well when the flood arrives.

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordapproach

───→here2.41───→4.6Even the unborn descends through the deluder Durgā.

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoireapproach

───→here2.41───→2.55'Self' here means mind — a single word redirects.

RamsukhdasclassicalF

Surrender — the single shelterstation

───→here2.41───→

Śaṅkaraclassicalshankara_jnana_nishtha

Shankara Jnana Nishthabetween · other

2.10Thesis flat───→here2.41───→3.4Naishkarmya is not just non-doing

Gauravmodernmemorial_pastoral

Memorial Pastoralbetween

2.27'Jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur dhruvam janma mritasya cha.' Death is certain for the───→here2.41───→8.6'Yam yam vapi smaran bhavam.' Whatever state of being one remembers at the last

Gauravmodernsanatana_dharma_101

Sanatana Dharma 101between

2.22'Vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya' — body as worn-out clothes. Sister verse to 2.13,───→here2.41───→3.27Karma pillar. The 'ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate' line is where Gaura

Gauravmodernwitness_self_neti_neti

Witness Self Neti Netibetween

2.20'Na jayate mriyate va kadachit, nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah, ajo nityah sh───→here2.41───→6.20'Yatroparamate chittam niruddham yoga-sevaya, yatra chaivatmana'tmanam pashyann

ŚaṅkaraclassicalA

Sorrow and delusion are the diseasebetween

2.11The wise mourn neither the living nor the dead.───→here2.41───→2.69Ignorance is night, wisdom alone wakes.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalB

Knowledge alone, with all action laid downbetween

2.10First lay down all action, then knowledge frees.───→here2.41───→3.4Mere not-doing is not renunciation at all.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalC

Knowledge plus action will not save youbetween

2.10Some say: combine knowledge with rites.───→here2.41───→3.1If insight is higher, why this dreadful work?

ŚaṅkaraclassicalD

The fit student vs the unfit studentbetween

2.39So far for the seeker of the real; now hear yoga.───→here2.41───→2.69Action holds only while ignorance still holds.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalJ

Scripture stands behind every claimbetween

2.10Pāṇḍitya is knowing the Self — Bṛhadāraṇyaka.───→here2.41───→3.4Brāhmaṇas seek the Self by Veda, then by rite.

JayatīrthaclassicalA

Body and embodied — the inference runs on the dehī sidebetween

2.24Uncuttable, unburnt, steady, all-pervading.───→here2.41───→13.5Field and knower: body-self cut returns.

JayatīrthaclassicalB

Pañcabheda — the five distinctions enforced verse by versebetween

2.24No jaḍa-property fits the dehin.───→here2.41───→7.5Higher prakṛti is Lakṣmī, not matter.

JayatīrthaclassicalC

Refuting Śaṅkara-style readings, named or unnamedbetween

2.13One-self-many-bodies runs out of grammar.───→here2.41───→2.72Old-age renunciation is off topic here.

JayatīrthaclassicalD

Saṅgati declared at the head of every adhyāyabetween

2.39Wrap prior section, then announce next.───→here2.41───→2.72Chapter closes here; upasaṁharati names it.

JayatīrthaclassicalG

Citation as proof — śruti, smṛti, MB, Aṣṭādhyāyī, Pañcarātrabetween

2.39MB 12.349 catalogue vs Pañcarātra.───→here2.41───→2.50Smṛti runs nine citations deep.

JayatīrthaclassicalH

Pūrva-pakṣa explicit — nanu / iti cet / ity ata āhabetween

2.18Body-mortality given as the rival claim.───→here2.41───→2.47Triple iti śeṣaḥ fills three gaps.

JayatīrthaclassicalI

Lakṣaṇā-control — literal preferred when availablebetween

2.39Sāṅkhya-yoga literal, not external schools.───→here2.41───→3.15If literal works, figurative is idle.

JayatīrthaclassicalJ

Reading the silence — iti śeṣaḥ and iti bhāvaḥbetween

2.23Three iti bhāvaḥ render the import.───→here2.41───→2.47Three iti śeṣaḥ fill three gaps.

RamsukhdasclassicalG

Equanimity in everythingbetween

2.38Equal in win and loss, no sin can stick.───→here2.41───→2.48Yoga itself is just sameness of mind.

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsapproach

───→here2.41───→4.34Paramparā / direct transmission. 'Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya, u

Gauravmoderncivilizational_air_conditioning

Civilizational Air Conditioningapproach

───→here2.41───→2.62'Dhyayato vishayan pumsah sangas teshupajayate, sangat sanjayate kamah.' The out

Gauravmodernheart_leadership

Heart Leadershipapproach

───→here2.41───→2.48'Yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva Dhananjaya, siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva

Gauravmoderninterfaith_cosmology

Interfaith Cosmologyapproach

───→here2.41───→4.11'Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.' As they approach me, so I

Gauravmodernkarma_yoga_hand

Karma Yoga Handapproach

───→here2.41───→2.47Middle finger. Nishkama karma plus the failure-gym. 'Karmany evadhikaras te, ma

Gauravmodernthree_yogas_braid

Three Yogas Braidapproach

───→here2.41───→3.3'Loke'smin dvi-vidha nishtha pura prokta mayanagha, jnana-yogena samkhyanam karm

ŚaṅkaraclassicalE

Ignorance is the only enemyapproach

───→here2.41───→2.69Wisdom rises; ignorance fades like dawn-darkness.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it wereapproach

───→here2.41───→4.6I appear as if born, never really, by māyā.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalG

After knowing, act only to hold the worldapproach

───→here2.41───→3.20Janaka acted only to hold the world together.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalK

Liberation while still embodiedapproach

───→here2.41───→2.72Standing in this state, one reaches Brahman..

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsapproach

───→here2.41───→3.15Brahmodbhavam — born of parabrahman.

JayatīrthaclassicalF

Bhakti-tāratamya: gradation among devotees, gradation in fruitapproach

───→here2.41───→4.11Fruit proportional to the service offered.

RamsukhdasclassicalA

What binds you (and how to let go)approach

───→here2.41───→2.47Hold no mine-ness on body or on fruit.

RamsukhdasclassicalB

This human birth — your one chance to actapproach

───→here2.41───→2.47Only a human body can do new action.

RamsukhdasclassicalC

Desire is the root — not actionapproach

───→here2.41───→2.55Drop desire, and the sense of doing falls.

RamsukhdasclassicalD

The three modes (sattva, rajas, tamas) at workapproach

───→here2.41───→2.45Rise above the modes, said in chapter two.

RamsukhdasclassicalH

All paths arrive at the same roomapproach

───→here2.41───→2.55Each path names its sage in its own words.

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsapproach

───→here2.41───→3.37The enemy is desire turning into anger.

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursapproach

───→here2.41───→3.27The modes act, but ego claims the deed.

Gauravmoderneminem_dsm_arjuna

Eminem Dsm Arjunaexit

2.11'Ashochyan anvashochas tvam prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase.' You grieve those not t───→here2.41───→

Ekrasmoderntrigunametry

Trigunametry — guṇas as embodied statesstation · v2 · station 6/9

───→here2.41───→

Ekrasmodernend_of_life

End of life — the threshold tourbetween · v2

2.22Worn-out garments───→here2.41───→8.5Last-thought rule

Ekrasmodernstress

Stress — panic to shelterbetween · v2

2.22Worn-out garments───→here2.41───→4.16Even the wise are confused

ĀnandagiriclassicalB

Three hexads = tat tvam asibetween

2.1First hexad opens, tvam-pada implicit.───→here2.41───→6.46Inner-self hexad closes; pivot prepared.

ĀnandagiriclassicalE

Pūrvapakṣa via nanu / āśaṅkyabetween

2.39Nanu… tatrāha: one pair, named.───→here2.41───→2.47Four objections in one paragraph. Anchor.

ĀnandagiriclassicalK

Upasaṃhāra — recap as instrumentbetween

2.39Wisdom section wound up here.───→here2.41───→6.46Dhyāna section sealed: yogin is supreme.

ĀnandagiriclassicalL

Akṣarayojanā — word-fit firstbetween

2.10Word-fit holds even at the dialogue's pivot.───→here2.41───→3.1Chapter-1 verse opens with word-fit, then bīja.

Ekrasmodernkarma_yoga

Karma yoga — the apprentice pathapproach · v2

───→here2.41───→2.47Right to action

Ekrasmodernvairagya

Vairāgya — dispassion as instrumentapproach · v2

───→here2.41───→2.55Sthitaprajna defined

Ekrasmodernleadership

Leadership — svadharma in actionapproach · v2

───→here2.41───→3.20Janaka, lokasangraha

Ekrasmodernparadox_of_doership

Paradox of doership — kartṛtvaapproach · v2

───→here2.41───→3.27Modes act, ego claims

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementapproach · other

───→here2.41───→2.62Brooding breeds attachment

ĀnandagiriclassicalC

Adhikāra: seeker vs. fulfilledapproach

───→here2.41───→2.47Primary fitness needs ripened conditions.

ĀnandagiriclassicalD

Praśna-bīja chapter openingsapproach

───→here2.41───→3.1Buddhi-vyākulatva named the seed.

ĀnandagiriclassicalF

Which karma? — fourfold typologyapproach

───→here2.41───→2.47No-fruit ≠ no-karma: kāmya-tyāga ≠ nitya-tyāga.

ĀnandagiriclassicalG

Anūdyate, na vidhīyateapproach

───→here2.41───→2.55A description, not a command. Anchor.

ĀnandagiriclassicalH

Phala-saṃkalpa is the only upādhiapproach

───→here2.41───→2.47Action stays; the wish for fruit goes.

Ekrasmodernfamily_conflict

Family Conflictexit · other

2.8No grief-remover I see───→here2.41───→

VallabhaclassicalD

Chapter-opening preludesbetween

2.1Six-verse prelude lays out the whole map.───→here2.41───→3.1Four-verse prelude frames renunciation.

VallabhaclassicalE

Three paths, one teaching orderbetween

2.39The yoga-mind is just the sāṅkhya-mind, retold.───→here2.41───→5.4Only the foolish call the two paths different.

VallabhaclassicalF

Soul as part of the highest Personbetween

2.16Real and unreal sort into pure and impure.───→here2.41───→7.4Lower nature is eight-fold; higher is the soul-collective.

VallabhaclassicalI

A closed three-source citation gridbetween

2.11Vallabha quotes his own Nibandha at verse two.───→here2.41───→3.30The Nibandha is cited again on threefold drop.

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsbetween

2.39Two minds, two paths, never one rule for all.───→here2.41───→3.3Arjuna's mixed question gets a sorted answer.

MadhusūdanaclassicalC

Action purifies before knowing can landbetween

2.39Pure mind for knowing, impure mind for acting.───→here2.41───→2.47The unready can only act, not yet know.

MadhusūdanaclassicalG

Knowing and acting cannot run togetherbetween

2.39Like light and dark, they cannot share a place.───→here2.41───→2.69The knower wakes to what the world sleeps to.

MadhusūdanaclassicalK

Arjuna's grief has two roots, not onebetween

2.11Anchor: two confusions — one universal, one yours alone.───→here2.41───→11.1Arjuna marks the universal moha cured.

Madhusūdanaclassicalmadhusudan_bhagavad_arpana

Madhusudan Bhagavad Arpanaapproach · other

───→here2.41───→2.47Fruit-free action cannot bind

VallabhaclassicalA

Two paths — rule-bound and grace-onlyapproach

───→here2.41───→4.11Each soul takes the path Krishna assigns to it.

VallabhaclassicalC

Drop the doer, not the deedapproach

───→here2.41───→3.1Drop something inside the act, not the act.

VallabhaclassicalG

The Lord plays — calf-affection, not contractapproach

───→here2.41───→4.7When dharma weakens, the Lord descends to play.

VallabhaclassicalH

Stilling the mind — into the Lordapproach

───→here2.41───→2.48Yoga itself is just sameness of mind.

MadhusūdanaclassicalA

Three groups of six: you, the Lord, the joiningapproach

───→here2.41───→3.1The whole map laid out at chapter three's door.

MadhusūdanaclassicalD

Offer the act to the Lord and it stops bindingapproach

───→here2.41───→2.47Action offered, fruit-free, cannot bear bondage.

MadhusūdanaclassicalI

Liberation while alive — the body finishes its runapproach

───→here2.41───→3.1The architecture ends in living-liberation, then bodily.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalA

The carama-śloka as retroactive bracketbetween

2.12From here to 18.66: one Krishna-utterance.───→here2.41───→5.16Knowledge dispels what mā śucaḥ will close.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalE

Pūrva-pakṣa — name the rival, close the doorbetween

2.39Sāṅkhya-yoga split: not two methods, two angles.───→here2.41───→7.18The jñānin is dearest; not interchangeable.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalF

Saṅgati — anticipation-and-resolutionbetween

2.39What chapter 3 will resolve, named here.───→here2.41───→3.1Arjuna's question resolves 2.49's hint.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalG

Three yogas — three angles on one configurationbetween

2.39Sāṅkhya and yoga: not two roads.───→here2.41───→3.3Two paths, one orientation toward Me.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalH

Mā śucaḥ — the inclusio of evolving griefbetween

2.11First grief — chapter-1 cowardice — closed.───→here2.41───→5.16Knowledge-darkness cleared — not yet refuge.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalC

Antaryāmin — the indweller as standing referentapproach

───→here2.41───→3.30'Mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi': read as antaryāmin.

VedāntadeśikaclassicalD

Adhikāra — eligibility as architecture, not exceptionapproach

───→here2.41───→4.11'Yathā' is open; the verb is the gate.

ŚrīdharaclassicalA

The Gītā as raft across griefbetween

2.11Confusing self with body is the source of grief.───→here2.41───→13.2For their rescue, truth-knowledge is uttered.

ŚrīdharaclassicalE

Inner cleansing reconciles work and knowingbetween

2.39Work polishes the inner instrument first.───→here2.41───→3.3One path, two grades: impure, then pure mind.

ŚrīdharaclassicalD

The path that turns no one awayapproach

───→here2.41───→4.11However they come, I meet them so.

ŚrīdharaclassicalF

The Lord inside as inner rulerapproach

───→here2.41───→3.30Lay every act in Me; I move within.

ŚrīdharaclassicalI

His evenness as ground for refugeapproach

───→here2.41───→4.11I meet each one as that one approaches.

ŚrīdharaclassicalJ

Insight given as a gift, not earned aloneapproach

───→here2.41───→4.34Knowers will pass it to you by teaching.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalA

Knowing and acting are one powerbetween

2.24The self is one unbroken awareness.───→here2.41───→3.1Knowing versus acting is the wrong cut.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalG

Saṃvit: one referent under many namesbetween

2.20Cit alone — the self cannot be destroyed.───→here2.41───→8.3Brahman, ātman, all facets of one Lord.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalB

Recognition, not additionapproach

───→here2.41───→4.14Recognize, do not learn — the verb shifts.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalD

Avatāra: appearance without departureapproach

───→here2.41───→4.1Teaching descends; the teacher does not move.

AbhinavaguptaclassicalF

Three guṇas: contractions of one consciousnessapproach

───→here2.41───→2.45Exit the modes — not better modes are the goal.

RāmānujaclassicalB

The śāstra is one bracket (2.12 → 18.66)between

2.39Practice seam begins.───→here2.41───→6.46The yogi outranks every other path.

RāmānujaclassicalD

Karma-yoga as kainkarya (worship)approach

───→here2.41───→2.47Act, but not for the fruit of acting.

RāmānujaclassicalG

Māyā is real causal powerapproach

───→here2.41───→4.6Self-power, not self-illusion.

RāmānujaclassicalH

Prapatti / śaraṇāgati — universal upāyaapproach

───→here2.41───→4.11As they approach Me, so do I receive them.

Śabda · lemmas (13 unique · 14 occurrences)

बुद्धिः·बुद्धयः buddhi ×2 — intellect, intelligence, discriminating faculty · nominative feminine singular noun / nominative feminine plural noun
व्यवसाय vyavasāya — resolve, determination, settled intention (vi- + ava- + √so 'destroy/finish' — 'cutting through to a decision') · compound

show all 13

आत्मिका ātmaka — having the nature of (ātman + -ka 'pertaining to') · nominative feminine singular noun
एका eka — one, alone, single · nominative feminine singular noun
इह iha — here, in this world, in this life
कुरु kuru — Kuru (the dynastic name); imperative of √kṛ (do!) · compound
नन्दन nandana — delighting, son, joy · vocative masculine singular noun
बहु bahu — many, much, abundant · compound
शाखाः śākhā — branch (of a tree); recension of the Veda · nominative feminine plural noun
हि hi — for, indeed, because (particle)
अनन्ताः ananta — endless, infinite (an- + anta 'end'); an epithet of Viṣṇu · nominative feminine plural noun
च ca — and; (homonym: also the consonant ca)
अव्यवसायिनाम् avyavasāyin — irresolute, unsteady (a- + vyavasāya + -in: 'not possessing resolve') · genitive masculine plural noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01If vyavasāyātmikā buddhi is described as singular (ekā) while the discernments of the avyavasāyin are described as anantā (endless), does this mean that multiplicity of goals is constitutively different in kind from multiplicity of means — and what does that imply for a practitioner who pursues mokṣa through multiple daily sādhanas (practices)?
02Śaṅkara locates the singleness of buddhi in its pramāṇa-origin (arising from valid means of knowledge), while Rāmānuja locates it in mokṣa-ekaphalata (single-fruit orientation) — are these compatible criteria, and does one subsume the other, or do they track different phenomena entirely?

show all 7

03The verse frames avyavasāya (irresolution) not as moral weakness but as a cognitive condition (bahushākhā buddhi) causally maintaining saṃsāra — does this mean that ethical improvement without epistemic resolution is structurally insufficient for liberation?
04Madhva's reading implies that doctrinal diversity (mata-bheda) is itself a symptom of avyavasāya, and that correct reasoning converges — does this make the verse an implicit argument that only one philosophical school can be correct, or is the convergence compatible with legitimate interpretive plurality?
05Vallabha reads the verse as distinguishing Yoga (one-pointed buddhi toward Bhagavān) from Sāṅkhya (triputī-śūnya vṛtti, modification void of subject-object-instrument triad) — if both dissolve the proliferating mind, what grounds the claim that Yoga-buddhi is ekā in a way that Sāṅkhya-vṛtti is not?
06Śrīdhara's liturgical consequence — that Īśvara-directed action is resilient to defect while kāmya action is fragile — raises the question: is this a doctrinal claim about the Lord's compassion, a logical claim about intentionality overriding procedure, or an empirical claim about observed ritual outcomes?
07Madhusūdana holds both the jñāna-reading and the bhakti-reading as co-valid by appeal to BG 2.40 ('even a little of this dharma') — but does holding two readings simultaneously instantiate the very bahushākhā condition the verse warns against, or does his synthesis demonstrate a higher-order ekā buddhi?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

When you face a decision — a career fork, a relationship question, a daily schedule — notice how the mind multiplies contingencies: 'but if X, then Y; but if not X, then Z; but also W.' Śaṅkara's reading of this verse diagnoses that proliferation as saṃsāra running on cognitive fuel. The practice is not to force a choice but to return to the one pramāṇa: what do I actually know to be real here? Act from that one verified cognition rather than from the fan of speculative branches. Every branch you refuse to follow is a small cessation of saṃsāra.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

In your work and family obligations, identify the many sub-goals competing for your attention — recognition, security, enjoyment, approval — and ask: which of these do I continue if mokṣa (understood as full flourishing in relation to what is ultimately real) is the single organizing fruit? Rāmānuja's reading does not require abandoning ordinary duties; it requires re-integrating them under one telos. The practical move is to consciously dedicate the day's first act (a meal prepared, a report filed, a call taken) as kainkarya (service), collapsing the daily inventory of goals into one stream.

show all 6

Dvaita

When you encounter genuine intellectual disagreement — a colleague with a different view, a family member with a contrary conviction — Madhva's reading of this verse offers an unusual frame: hold the disagreement with the patience of one who believes correct reasoning will converge. The vyavasāyātmikā buddhi is not stubbornness; it is the confidence that valid yukti (argument) and lived reality are coherent and that the divergence is resolvable. This permits you to remain curious rather than defensive, because you are not personally invested in your position — you are invested in convergence.

Śuddhādvaita

In a creative project, a practice you love, or a moment of genuine delight, Vallabha's reading asks: can you perform this act as offered — not as production for outcome, not as fulfillment of duty, but as a small piece of Kṛṣṇa's own play (līlā) being lived through you? The difference is bodily: desire-motivated action carries a low-grade vigilance (did it work? was it enough?), while prasāda-oriented action carries a different quality — absorbed, complete in the doing. The verse's warning about the asura who says 'I shall sacrifice, I shall give, I shall rejoice' is precisely the actor who is performing for his own applause inside the cosmic play.

Bhakti

Śrīdhara's reading offers a specific relief: if you missed a practice today, forgot a commitment, performed a duty imperfectly — and that duty was oriented toward the well-being of others or toward something larger than personal gain — it does not collapse. Īśvara-directed action is structurally resilient to limb-defect. The kāmya act done imperfectly fails; the offered act done imperfectly still reaches. The practical instruction is therefore: build the dedicatory frame first (for whom, for what is this act?) and the precision of execution becomes less existentially loaded — not less careful, but no longer terror-gripped.

Advaita-Bhakti

Madhusūdana's synthesis addresses those who have genuine intellectual uncertainty about path: should I follow the jñāna-mārga or the bhakti-mārga? His reading of this verse says the question may be ill-posed — both resolve into one buddhi if held with the right orientation. The practical test he offers, borrowed from BG 2.40, is: even a small step in this direction protects from great fear. So rather than resolving the path intellectually before beginning, begin — with whatever combination of inquiry and devotion feels most alive — and track whether the proliferating branches of the mind are quieting. The fruit of ekā buddhi is recognizable from inside the practice.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 2, Verse 41: Krishna to Arjuna — Sāṅkhya-Yoga