कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञाना यजन्ते अन्यदेवताः । तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया ॥
kāmaistaistaihṛtajñānā yajante anyadevataḥ | taṃ taṃ niyamāmāsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā ||
Translation
Those whose knowledge has been taken away by various desires worship other divinities, following this or that rule, constrained by their own nature.
Interpretation
This verse explains the religious diversity of humanity without condemning it. People worship various deities and powers because their knowledge has been clouded by desires — they want specific outcomes (health, wealth, children, power) and direct their worship accordingly. They follow various rules and practices (tam tam niyamam) appropriate to those deities. And this is driven by their own nature (prakrityā niyatāḥ svayā). Krishna does not condemn this — it is a legitimate stage. But it is not the highest.