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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 3.2
व्यामिश्रेणेव वाक्येन बुद्धिं मोहयसीव मे ।
तदेकं वद निश्चित्य येन श्रेयोऽहमाप्नुयाम् ॥ २ ॥
vyāmiśreṇeva vākyena
buddhiṁ mohayasīva me
tad ekaṁ vada niścitya
yena śreyo ’ham āpnuyām
My intelligence is bewildered by Your equivocal instructions. Therefore, please tell me decisively which will be most beneficial for me.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Arjuna feels confused by the instructions and asks for a clear answer about what is best for him.
Prabhupāda explains that Arjuna’s questions clarify the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness for all serious students.
When confused, ask questions to understand the path clearly and know how to act.
These notes cover verses 3.1–2
Arjuna is confused
Based on Text 2.49, Arjuna doubts the compatibility of Karma (Duty of fighting) & Jnana (Buddhi – yoga based on knowledge of the soul) and requests for the one conclusive path
Krishna consciousness often misused as an excuse to avoid duty or misunderstood to be inertia (3.1). Correct understanding is
Without being trained in the philosophy of Krishna consciousness it is not advisable to chant the holy names in a secluded place
It only acquires cheap adoration from the innocent public
Practical Application: Sign of a sincere student — Sincere student places the doubt before master to elicit best course of action (3.1). In response Krishna explained karma-yoga (work in Krishna consciousness)
Arjuna clears apparently confusing path of Chapter 2 for sincere students of Bhagavad-gita
Arjuna asks if it is better to be situated in knowledge or to work, as if two were opposed to each other
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 3.2 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to questions & crisis?
Write down the real question behind your current dilemma.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.