Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.24.6
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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jñātvā
—
having known
Absolutive of √jñā. Action preceded by knowledge. Kṛṣṇa is opening a gap between sincere effort and informed effort; the indra-yāga falls on the wrong side of that gap, and He intends Nanda to feel it.
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ajñātvā
—
not having known
Negation of jñātvā. Same act done in ignorance. The verse is not a denial of karma — it is an invitation into discrimination (vicāra) about which karma we are performing and why.
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karmāṇi
—
actions
Accusative plural of karma. The Sanskrit term covers ritual, occupational duty, and ordinary deed. Kṛṣṇa's whole argument in the chapter is conducted in this neutral word — He is not anti-karma; He is anti-misdirected-karma.
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karma - siddhiḥ
—
perfection of work
Compound: karma (action) + siddhi (success, attainment). Kṛṣṇa concedes that within the karma-kāṇḍa frame there is a real siddhi available — but only to the one who knows what he is doing. He will then ask whether the cowherds, in this case, do.
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viduṣaḥ
—
of the knower
Genitive of vidvas, present participle of √vid. The 'knower' here is not the abstract scholar but the practitioner who sees through the form of the act to its actual mechanism. The setup for verses 13–17, where Kṛṣṇa lays bare the actual mechanism — karma, not Indra.
The Lord here informs His father that people should perform a particular ceremony or activity only after thoroughly understanding it through discussion with friends. We should not be blind followers of tradition. If a person doesn’t even know what he’s doing, how can he be successful in his work? This, essentially, is the Lord’s argument in this verse. Since Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as the young child of Nanda, would naturally be expected to show enthusiasm for His father’s religious activities, it was the father’s duty to give the son a thorough explanation of the ceremony.
One should do ones activities by first understanding thoroughly, taking the advice and intelligence of ones intimate associates, rather than do things by imitation or custom. Activities refers to the worship and sacrifices that the farmers should perform, as well the the present and future results.
People perform activities of agriculture or sacrifice which produce present and future results, with knowledge, or only seeing present results (ajñātvā). Yathā means “accordingly.”
“You are certainly a friend, more than my life, but you are a child and are not qualified for mantras.” This verse answers (I should have knowledge.) People perform activities of agriculture or sacrifice which produce present and future results, with knowledge, or only seeing present results (ajñātvā). Those who know rightly get results (yathā). Or those who know get results and similarly those who do not know do not get results. But in either case the result is small. And the effort is useless in performing pious acts when there is no result at all. Vaktṛ-viśeṣa-niṣpṛhā guṇa-gṛhyā vacane vipañcitaḥ: when a speaker is without desire, he is endowed with all good qualities and is wise in speaking. Thus it is proper to perform your actions after consulting with me.
- Which of my regular practices am I doing without really knowing why?
- Where could a single conversation this week convert blind ritual into understood action?
Two woodcutters fell the same tree. One reads the grain and the lean of the trunk and brings it down where he chose; the other swings hard, hopes well, and is sometimes crushed by what he felled. The axe is the same; the success belongs to the eye that read the wood. Kṛṣṇa is asking Nanda to read this ritual with the same kind of eye.
My note
Source: vedabase.io