Bhagavad Gita 3.2
Spoken by Arjuna · Verse 2 of 43 · Arjuna's Journey
व्यामिश्रेणेव वाक्येन बुद्धिं मोहयसीव मे । तदेकं वद निश्चित्य येन श्रेयोऽहमाप्नुयाम् ॥
vyāmiśreṇeva vākyena buddhiṃ mohayasīva me | tad ekaṃ vada niścitya yena śreyo 'ham āpnuyām ||
Tell me clearly: what ONE thing leads to the highest good? Your mixed speech confuses me.
Word by word (3)
- vyāmiśreṇa vākyena
- — with seemingly mixed / confusing speech · Vyāmiśra = mixed, blended, confused (vi+ā+miśra). Arjuna perceives Krishna's teaching as internally contradictory. This is the experience of anyone encountering the Gita's non-dual teaching for the first time: it seems to say contradictory things because the ordinary mind processes 'wisdom vs. action' as an either/or.
- tad ekaṃ vada niścitya
- — tell me that one thing definitively · Ekaṃ = one, single. Niścitya = having decided, definitively. Arjuna is not asking for more philosophy — he is asking for a single clear directive. This is the practical student's plea: cut through the complexity and tell me what to do. Krishna will answer — but the answer requires understanding, not just instructions.
- śreyo 'ham āpnuyām
- — by which I may attain the highest good · Śreyas = the highest good, the ultimately beneficial (as opposed to priya = the immediately pleasant). Arjuna's request is for śreyas (ultimate good), not just preyas (immediate comfort). This is spiritually significant — even in confusion, his aspiration is aimed at the highest.
Your speech seems mixed and appears to confuse my understanding. Tell me clearly, definitively — that one thing by which I can attain the highest good.
A modern analogy
After a long strategy meeting with contradictory advice from multiple consultants, you ask: 'Can someone just tell me the one thing I should actually do?' Arjuna's plea here is that moment — honest, practical, exhausted by complexity. He wants the one clear directive. Krishna will give it — but it will take all of Ch.3 to explain why.
Take with you
- Asking for clarity when genuinely confused is wisdom, not weakness.
- Arjuna's request for 'the one thing' reflects a deep human need — we want clear directives, not complex philosophy.
- The Gita's answer is not a simple instruction but a transformed understanding — which is why it takes a full chapter.
- Śreyas (the highest good) vs. preyas (the pleasant) — always aim for śreyas even when asking for simplicity.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Thou seemest, as it were, to bewilder my understanding with apparently contradictory words. Tell me definitely that one thing by which I shall attain the highest good. [1]
With this apparently perplexing speech Thou seemest to bewilder my understanding. Tell me, then, definitely, the one thing by which I can attain bliss. [4]
With words that seem contradictory thou dost confuse my understanding. Tell me one definite truth by which I may obtain bliss. [6]
Arjuna: Perplexed and troubled by thy mingled speech, Tell me one clear and certain way to bliss. [7]
With speech apparently perplexing, Thou seemest to bewilder my understanding. Tell me definitely that one thing by which I may attain happiness. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Arjuna's honest confusion: if wisdom is better than action, why push me into this terrible fight?
Two paths: knowledge for the reflective, action for the active. Both lead to the same summit.
O Pārtha, was this heard with one-pointed mind? O Dhanañjaya, has the delusion of ignorance been completely destroyed?
I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Anger → delusion → memory loss → intellect destroyed → total ruin. Know this chain before it starts.
Verse 2 of 43 · back to Chapter 3