Bhagavad Gita · Sankhya YogaChapter 2, Shloka 46 (2.46)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वतः सम्प्लुतोदके
तावान् सर्वेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य विजानतः
॥ 2.46 ॥
yāvānartha udapāne sarvataḥ samplutodake
tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ
Translation
"As much use as a small pond has when there is water on every side, so much use have all the Vedas for one who knows (Brahman)."
(Another reading — Ramanuja: "Just as a thirsty person takes from a reservoir brimming with water on all sides only as much as he needs, so the wise one takes from all the Vedas only what is a means to moksha.")
Interpretation
A famous comparison — small wells and a vast expanse of water. Small wells and ponds — each has its own use (drinking, bathing). But when there is water on every side, all those uses are served at once. Shankara: the fruit of all the actions enjoined in the Vedas is contained within the fruit of the knowledge of the knower of Brahman.
Ramanuja's practical reading. A thirsty person does not drink all the water of a great reservoir — he takes only as much as he needs. In the same way the seeker of liberation chooses from the Vedas the means to moksha, not everything. That is, the fullness of the Vedas remains; each person takes according to his goal.
"Brāhmaṇasya" — who? Here the commentators take "brahmana" in the sense of one who knows Brahman — Shankara: saṃnyāsinaḥ paramārtha-tattvaṃ vijānataḥ; Ramanuja: vaidikasya mumukṣoḥ. That is, the word here is used not in the sense of a caste based on birth, but in the sense of knowledge.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.