Commentary

Commentary

This verse is the conclusion of a three-verse sequence on the danger of desire-driven religiosity. Having described those who mistake Vedic ritual for the highest teaching (2.42) and the desire-filled nature that drives them (2.43), Krishna now states the direct consequence: vyavasaayaatmikaa buddhih samadhau na vidheeyate — the resolute intelligence does not arise in those whose minds are stolen by attachment.

Apahritachetasaam — The Stolen Mind

The phrase apahritachetasaam is one of the most evocative in this chapter. Apahrita means “carried away,” “stolen,” “abducted.” The mind has not simply wandered; it has been taken. This is what strong attachment does — it does not merely distract, it colonizes. The person who is deeply attached to wealth and pleasure does not just think about these things occasionally. Their entire inner life is organized around obtaining and protecting what they are attached to. The mind that has been thus stolen cannot generate the single-pointed resolve that yoga requires, because the pull of attachment is always dividing it in multiple directions.

Samadhau — In the State of Absorption

The word samadhi here does not refer only to deep meditative trance. More broadly, it points to the state in which the mind is fully concentrated on the Absolute — the condition of inner stillness from which genuine spiritual discrimination and devotion can arise. This state is structurally incompatible with a mind organized around the pursuit of bhoga (sensory enjoyment) and aishvarya (material lordship). These are not compatible operating modes. One requires complete presence to what is; the other requires constant anxious projection toward what might be obtained or lost.

The Connection to 2.41

This verse deliberately echoes 2.41, where Krishna introduced vyavasaayaatmikaa buddhi as the hallmark of the wise. Now he shows what prevents that intelligence from arising: not wickedness, not stupidity, but the simple fact of the mind being too full of something else. The teaching is practical: if you want the resolute intelligence of the yogi, you must first create the inner space that resolute intelligence needs. That space cannot coexist with a mind packed full of craving.