Sanskrit
कामात्मानः स्वर्गपरा जन्मकर्मफलप्रदाम् । क्रियाविशेषबहुलां भोगैश्वर्यगतिं प्रति ॥
kāmātmānaḥ svargaparā janmakarmaphalapradām kriyāviśeṣabahulāṃ bhogaiśvaryagatiṃ prati
Translation
With desire for self, with heaven for goal, they offer birth as the fruit of action, and prescribe many and various ceremonies for the attainment of pleasure and lordship.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna names exactly what the “flowery speech” of verse 42 is optimizing for: a good rebirth, pleasure, and status, secured through the right ceremonies. It’s worth noticing that this is precisely the fruit-oriented motivation verse 47 will forbid outright — this passage is diagnosing the problem before the chapter’s core teaching offers the alternative.
Concepts