Shloka 43
Dharma, Purity, and the Inner Purpose of the Vedas
Karma-kāṇḍa Reoriented to Bhakti
मां विधत्तेऽभिधत्ते मां विकल्प्यापोह्यते त्वहम् । एतावान् सर्ववेदार्थ: शब्द आस्थाय मां भिदाम् । मायामात्रमनूद्यान्ते प्रतिषिध्य प्रसीदति ॥ ४३ ॥
māṁ vidhatte ’bhidhatte māṁ vikalpyāpohyate tv aham etāvān sarva-vedārthaḥ śabda āsthāya māṁ bhidām māyā-mātram anūdyānte pratiṣidhya prasīdati
我こそはヴェーダにより定められた祭祀（ヤジュニャ）であり、また礼拝されるべき神格でもある。さまざまな哲学的仮説として提示されるのも我であり、分析によって否定されるのもまた我である。かくして超越の聖音は、我を一切のヴェーダ義の精髄として確立する。ヴェーダは物質の二元性を我がマーヤーの力にすぎぬものとして精査し、ついにはそれを完全に否定して自ら満足に至る。
The Lord declared in the previous verse that He alone knows the ultimate purpose of the Vedas, and now the Lord reveals that He alone is the ultimate basis and purpose of all Vedic knowledge. The karma-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas prescribes ritualistic sacrifices for promotion to heaven. Such sacrifices are the Lord Himself. Similarly, the upāsanā-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas designates different demigods as objects of ritualistic worship, and these deities are not different from the Lord Himself, being expansions of the Lord’s body. In the jñāna-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas different philosophical methods of analysis are presented and refuted. Such knowledge, which analyzes the potency of the Supreme Lord, is not different from Him. Ultimately Lord Kṛṣṇa is everything, because everything is part and parcel of the Lord’s multipotencies. Although Vedic literature entices those absorbed in material duality to begin the Vedic way of life by offering them materially desirable rewards, the Vedas eventually refute all material duality by bringing one to the stage of God consciousness, wherein there is nothing different from the Supreme Lord.
FAQs
This verse states that the whole purport of the Vedas is to lead one, through Vedic sound and discrimination, to the Supreme Lord—finally negating the illusion of separateness (māyā) and attaining peace in Him.
Krishna instructed Uddhava to understand how scripture uses both affirmation and negation to guide the seeker beyond conceptual limitations, toward direct realization of the Lord as the ultimate truth.
Treat changing identities, anxieties, and external labels as temporary and secondary; use study, reflection, and devotion to center consciousness on the enduring reality—service and remembrance of the Supreme.