9-20 to 9-21

त्रैविद्या माम् सोमपाः पूतपापाः
यज्ञैरिष्ट्वा स्वर्गतिम् प्रार्थयन्ते ।
ते पुण्यमासाद्य सुरेन्द्र लोकम्
अश्नन्ति दिव्यान् दिवि देव-भोगान् ॥ २० ॥
ते तम् भुक्त्वा स्वर्ग लोकम् विशालम्
क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्य लोकम् विशन्ति ।
एवम् त्रयी धर्मम् अनुप्रपन्नाः
गतागतम् कामकामा लभन्ते ॥ २१ ॥

traividyA mAm somapAH pUtapApAH
yajJairiSTvA svargatim prArthayante |
te puNyamAsAdya surendra lokam
aznanti divyAn divi deva-bhogAn || 20 ||
te tam bhuktvA svarga lokam vizAlam
kSINe puNye martya lokam vizanti |
evam trayI dharmam anuprapannAH
gatAgatam kAmakAmA labhante || 21 ||

त्रैविद्याः [traividyAH] Those who know the three Vedas माम् यज्ञ्यैः इष्ट्वा [mAm yajJyaiH iSTvA] worship Me with ceremonies, सोमपाः [somapAH] consume the residue from the ceremony and पूत पापाः [pUta pApAH] get rid of their misfortune. स्वर्गतिम् प्रार्थयन्ते [svargatim prArthayante] They pray for a world of comforts. आसाद्य [AsAdya] Having arrived पुण्यम् सुरेन्द्र लोकम् [puNyam surendra lokam] in the world of comforts, ते अश्नन्ति [te aznanti] they enjoy दिव्यान् देव भोगान् [divyAn deva bhogAn] divine pleasures of the elite दिवि [divi] in that world. भुक्त्वा [bhuktvA] Having enjoyed तम् विशालम् स्वर्ग लोकम् [tam vizAlam svarga lokam] the vast world of comforts, ते मर्त्य लोकम् विशन्ति [te martya lokam vizanti] they enter the world of ordinary humans पुण्ये क्षीणे [puNye kSINe] once their virtues are spent. एवम् [evam] In this way, काम कामाः [kAma kAmAH] people who crave for desirable things अनुप्रपन्नाः [anuprapannAH] and advocate त्रयी धर्मम् [trayI dharmam] the three Vedas to gain these ends लभन्ते [labhante] keep गतागतम् [gatAgatam] going and coming back.

The three Vedas refer to the knowledge contained in the form of the Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas. People who are focused only on the three Vedas are different from the ones who focus on the Vedantas (also known as Upanishads), which are at the end of the Vedas.

Only people who focus on the Upanishads are truly great persons. They worship Me alone, in the manner described before . Ultimately, I am the one who is to be known from all the Vedas. Knowing Me in this way, they recollect me repeatedly. Such recollection is inspired by excessive devotion towards Me. They worship Me and dedicate themselves to My study. They desire to achieve Me alone.

On the other hand, people who focus only on the three Vedas get free from misfortunes that prevent them achieving a world of comfort. Their method is to follow the rituals prescribed in the Vedas. Those rituals concern the forces of the environment. They consume the left-overs from those rituals.

Actually, with these rituals, they are appeasing forces that are a manifestation of My form. However, they don’t know it, so they end up craving for material comforts. They enter worlds that are auspicious - meaning they are not mingled in sorrow. They experience a vast amount of comfort. When the effect of their virtuous deeds wanes, they end up in the human world again, with all its attendant sorrows.

In this way, they miss the knowledge in the Vedantas - they do not know Me and end up craving for various comforts and desires. They merely follow the three Vedas and end up returning repeatedly - they only experience comforts that are small and temporary and return to the normal world again.

On the other hand, those who are gifted think of Me with unbounded affection. They attain Me, the supreme and ever-lasting joy. They do not return. Their specialty is described next.