Chapter VII · Śloka 20
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः ।
तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया ॥
तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया ॥
kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante 'nya-devatāḥ |
taṃ taṃ niyamam āsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā ||
taṃ taṃ niyamam āsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā ||
Those whose knowledge is stolen by various desires take refuge in other deities, following various disciplines, constrained by their own natures.
Worship of lesser deities is here traced to hṛta-jñānā — knowledge that has been carried off by desire. The worshippers are governed by their own svabhāva (individual nature) rather than free discernment; they seek finite results and accordingly reach finite deities that correspond to those results.