Mūla — the verse
Gita Press numberingTranslation
Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣyaPeople, deprived of their wisdom by desires for various objects and guided by their own nature, resort to other deities, following the relevant methods.
हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda
भोगविशेष की कामना से जिनका ज्ञान हर लिया गया है, ऐसे पुरुष अपने स्वभाव से प्रेरित हुए अन्य देवताओं को विशिष्ट नियम का पालन करते हुए भजते हैं।।
Pronunciation — Vaamshii
from VaamshiiWord by word
padārthaMeaning — Questions & Solutions
from Q&A with KnA“Those whose knowledge is carried off by this or that desire resort to other gods, following this or that rite, constrained by their own natures.” The “other deities” are the many gods of the pantheon — powers who grant particular boons. Kṛṣṇa neither denies them nor mocks their worshippers; he simply notes that such worship is desire-driven and its fruit finite (7.23). The devas are real functionaries within the manifest order, but to stop at them is to mistake a clerk for the sovereign. The verse is descriptive, not contemptuous.