Mūla — the verse
Gita Press numberingTranslation
Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣyaA Brahmana with realization has that much utility in all the Vedas as a person has in a well when there is a flood all around.
हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda
सब ओर से परिपूर्ण जलराशि के होने पर मनुष्य का छोटे जलाशय में जितना प्रयोजन रहता है? आत्मज्ञानी ब्राह्मण का सभी वेदों में उतना ही प्रयोजन रहता है।।
Pronunciation — Vaamshii
from VaamshiiWord by word
padārthaThemes
from The Thematic Companion to the Bhagavad GītāMeaning — Questions & Solutions
from Q&A with KnAFor a Brāhmaṇa — not in the misunderstood sense of a caste, but a native of the realm called Brahman (and Brahman here is not the four-headed creator-god) — who has access to the elevated experience of Supreme Bliss, there are no further Vedic injunctions to follow, nor anything left to learn from them. He cannot be bound by rules or norms; he stands beyond social custom and belongs wholly to the Supreme. He is what we also call an Avadhūta. To one who dwells day and night in that reservoir of ecstasy, of what use is a small vessel of water? The Vedas speak of the Unknown, pray to the Unknown, prescribe the processes (yajñas and sādhanā) and deal with the metaphysical questions. When the Unknown has become Known for such a person, all the prescriptions of the Vedas together make no difference. When the goal-post has been reached, need one warm up and re-read the rule-book?