But the knowledge that clings to one single effect, the body, or to something outside such as an image, as though it were the whole, as though it had every object, holding 'just this much is the self, or the Lord, and there is nothing beyond this', as the naked Kshapanakas and the like hold the soul to be a thing within the body and of the body's size, or hold the Lord to be a mere lump of stone or wood; knowledge thus clinging to one single effect, without reason, without ground, without argument, and not concerned with the real, that is, not having for its object the thing as it truly is, the truly existing thing being its proper object to be known; such knowledge, because it is groundless, is also slight, since its object is slight and its fruit slight. That is declared to be of tamas. For such knowledge is seen in tamasic creatures who lack discernment. Now the threefoldness of action is stated.

But the knowledge that, in one single effect, in one single action to be done, the worship of departed spirits, elemental beings, and the rest, an action of utterly slight fruit, is attached as though it were of the whole fruit, groundless, that is, in truth without the ground of attachment that belongs to one of the whole fruit; not bearing on the thing as it truly is, having, as before, a false object by way of the self's being joined with separateness and the rest; and slight, slight too because, by having the worship of departed spirits and the rest for its object, it is of utterly slight fruit; that knowledge is declared to be tamasic. Thus, having told the threefoldness, by quality, of the knowledge whose object is the action to be done, in the hour of qualification, by way of the qualified one, the Lord states the threefoldness, by quality, of the action to be performed.

This is a brief sub-gloss. For a fuller reading of this verse, see Madhusūdana, Śaṅkara, or Rāmānuja above.

Madhvacharya does not comment on this verse.