Mūla — the verse
Gita Press numberingTranslation
Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣyaThose who are versed in the Vedas, who drink Soma and are purified of sin, pray for the heavenly goal by worshipping Me through sacrifices. Having reached the place (world) of the king of gods, which is the result of righteousness, they enjoy the divine pleasure of the gods in heaven.
हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda
तीनों वेदों के ज्ञाता (वेदोक्त सकाम कर्म करने वाले), सोमपान करने वाले एवं पापों से पवित्र हुए पुरुष मुझे यज्ञों के द्वारा पूजकर स्वर्ग प्राप्ति चाहते हैं; वे पुरुष अपने पुण्यों के फलरूप इन्द्रलोक को प्राप्त कर स्वर्ग में दिव्य देवताओं के भोग भोगते हैं।।
Pronunciation — Vaamshii
from VaamshiiWord by word
padārthaThemes
from The Thematic Companion to the Bhagavad GītāMeaning — Questions & Solutions
from Q&A with KnA“The knowers of the three Vedas, drinkers of the soma, purified of sin, worshipping Me by sacrifices, pray for the way to heaven; reaching the holy world of Indra, they enjoy in heaven the divine pleasures of the gods” (9.20–21). This is the ritualist's ceiling once more. Such worship, bounded by the three ritual Vedas and aimed at svarga, wins its reward — the heaven of Indra (the “Vaikuṇṭha” of the merely meritorious) — but a reward that is spent like a savings account: “having enjoyed the vast heaven, their merit exhausted, they return to the mortal world.” It is a round trip, not a release.