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 V2 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.
V2 is Arjuna's second consecutive question — the two verses form a pair. V1 asked 'why act if wisdom is better?' V2 asks 'give me one clear answer.' Shankaracharya notes that Arjuna's description of Krishna's speech as 'vyāmiśra' (mixed) is technically accurate: in Ch.2, Krishna spoke of both jñāna (knowledge-path) and karma (action-path) without clearly establishing their relationship. Ch.3 resolves this. The plea for ekaṃ (one thing) is the student asking for integration, not more information. This is the moment that makes Krishna's subsequent teaching necessary and urgent.
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.