अर्जुन उवाच |
arjuna uvāca |
Arjuna asks Krishna a pivotal question: between those devotees who worship You with constant devotion in Your personal form, and those who worship the imperishable, unmanifested Absolute — who are better versed in yoga? This question arises from the teachings of the previous chapter where Krishna revealed His cosmic form, prompting Arjuna to seek clarity on the relative merit of two paths of spiritual practice.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
śrībhagavānuvāca |
The Supreme Lord declares: Those who fix their minds on Me, who worship Me with constant devotion and supreme faith — I consider them to be the most perfect in yoga. This is Krishna's direct and unambiguous answer to Arjuna's question, establishing personal devotion as the highest path.
ये त्वक्षरमनिर्देश्यमव्यक्तं पर्युपासते |
ye tvakṣaramanirdeśyamavyaktaṃ paryupāsate |
But those who worship the imperishable, the indefinable, the unmanifested, the all-pervading, the inconceivable, the unchanging, the immovable, and the eternal — Krishna begins describing the path of those who seek the formless Absolute, using a cascade of negative and transcendent attributes to convey something beyond all description.
सन्नियम्येन्द्रियग्रामं सर्वत्र समबुद्धयः |
sanniyamyendriyagrāmaṃ sarvatra samabuddhayaḥ |
Having restrained all the senses, being even-minded everywhere, and engaged in the welfare of all beings — they also reach Me alone. Krishna confirms that those who follow the formless path do attain Him, provided they have complete sense control, equanimity, and universal compassion.
क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् |
kleśo'dhikatarasteṣāmavyaktāsaktacetasām |
Greater is the difficulty of those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, for the path of the unmanifested is arduous and painful for embodied beings. Krishna reveals the practical truth: while the formless path is valid, it causes more suffering for those who inhabit physical bodies because the mind cannot easily grasp what has no form.
ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि मयि सन्न्यस्य मत्पराः |
ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi sannyasya matparāḥ |
But those who surrender all actions to Me, regarding Me as the supreme goal, and worship Me with exclusive, undivided devotion, meditating on Me — Krishna now describes the devotees He favors. The key words are 'sannyasya' (surrendering), 'matparāḥ' (devoted to Me as supreme), and 'ananyena' (without any other object).
तेषामहं समुद्धर्ता मृत्युसंसारसागरात् |
teṣāmahaṃ samuddhartā mṛtyusaṃsārasāgarāt |
For those whose minds are absorbed in Me, O Partha, I become the swift deliverer from the ocean of death and rebirth. This is Krishna's extraordinary promise: He personally intervenes to liberate those who surrender to Him. The word 'nacirāt' (without delay, soon) conveys divine urgency — God does not make His devotees wait.
मय्येव मन आधत्स्व मयि बुद्धिं निवेशय |
mayyeva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṃ niveśaya |
Fix your mind on Me alone, let your intellect dwell in Me — you shall hereafter live in Me alone; of this there is no doubt. This famous verse is Krishna's direct instruction: place both the emotional mind (manas) and the rational intellect (buddhi) in Him. The reward is permanent union — 'nivasiṣyasi' means 'you will dwell, you will live.' It is not a temporary experience but an eternal state.
अथ चित्तं समाधातुं न शक्नोषि मयि स्थिरम् |
atha cittaṃ samādhātuṃ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram |
If you cannot fix your mind steadily on Me, then seek to reach Me through the yoga of regular practice (abhyāsa yoga), O Dhananjaya. Krishna compassionately acknowledges human limitation: if total absorption is not immediately possible, then disciplined, repeated practice is the next best approach.
अभ्यासेऽप्यसमर्थोऽसि मत्कर्मपरमो भव |
abhyāse'pyasamartho'si matkarmaparamo bhava |
If you are unable even to practice regularly, then be intent on performing actions for My sake. Even by performing actions dedicated to Me, you shall attain perfection. Krishna descends another step on the ladder: if even regular practice is beyond you, then simply do your worldly work as service to the divine.
अथैतदप्यशक्तोऽसि कर्तुं मद्योगमाश्रितः |
athaitadapyaśakto'si kartuṃ madyogamāśritaḥ |
If you are unable even to do this, then taking refuge in My yoga, renounce the fruits of all actions with self-control. Krishna reaches the final rung of the ladder: if you cannot even dedicate your work to God, simply give up attachment to the results of whatever you do. This is the most accessible practice — pure detachment from outcomes.
श्रेयो हि ज्ञानमभ्यासाज्ज्ञानाद्ध्यानं विशिष्यते |
śreyo hi jñānamabhyāsājjñānāddhyānaṃ viśiṣyate |
Knowledge is superior to mere practice; meditation is superior to knowledge; renunciation of the fruits of action is superior to meditation — for from renunciation, peace follows immediately. This famous verse establishes a hierarchy that culminates not in the most difficult practice but in the most liberating one. Peace (śānti) follows immediately from letting go.
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च |
adveṣṭā sarvabhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca |
He who is free from hatred toward all beings, who is friendly and compassionate, free from possessiveness and ego, equal in pleasure and pain, and forgiving — Krishna begins one of the most beautiful passages in all of scripture: the description of the ideal devotee. These verses (12.13-20) paint a portrait of spiritual perfection through qualities of character rather than techniques of practice.
सन्तुष्टः सततं योगी यतात्मा दृढनिश्चयः |
santuṣṭaḥ satataṃ yogī yatātmā dṛḍhaniścayaḥ |
Ever content, steady in meditation, self-controlled, possessed of firm conviction, with mind and intellect offered to Me — such a devotee is dear to Me. Krishna concludes the first couplet of the ideal devotee portrait with the phrase that will echo through the remaining verses: 'sa me priyaḥ' — that one is dear to Me.
यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको लोकान्नोद्विजते च यः |
yasmānnodvijate loko lokānnodvijate ca yaḥ |
He by whom the world is not disturbed and who is not disturbed by the world, who is free from the agitations of joy, anger, fear, and anxiety — such a person is dear to Me. Krishna describes a remarkable quality: the ideal devotee neither causes disturbance to others nor is disturbed by them. This is bidirectional peace.
अनपेक्षः शुचिर्दक्ष उदासीनो गतव्यथः |
anapekṣaḥ śucirdakṣa udāsīno gatavyathaḥ |
He who is free from expectations, pure, skillful, impartial, free from distress, and who has renounced all selfish undertakings — such a devotee is dear to Me. Krishna adds another layer to the portrait: the ideal devotee is not passive but skillful (dakṣa), not indifferent but truly impartial (udāsīna), and renounces not action itself but selfish motivation behind action.
यो न हृष्यति न द्वेष्टि न शोचति न काङ्क्षति |
yo na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi na śocati na kāṅkṣati |
He who neither rejoices excessively nor hates, neither grieves nor craves, who has renounced both good and evil — such a devotee, full of bhakti, is dear to Me. Krishna describes a state beyond the pairs of opposites: the devotee is not tossed between elation and hatred, grief and craving, or even the distinction between auspicious and inauspicious.
समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः |
samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ |
Equal toward friend and foe, equal in honor and dishonor, equal in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, free from all attachment — Krishna continues the portrait with perhaps the most challenging quality: treating friends and enemies, praise and insult, comfort and discomfort with the same inner balance.
तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येन केनचित् |
tulyanindāstutirmaunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit |
Equal in blame and praise, silent and contemplative, content with whatever comes, without a fixed abode, steady of mind, full of devotion — such a person is dear to Me. Krishna paints the portrait of a soul so free that they need no permanent home, no praise, no specific conditions to be complete.
ये तु धर्म्यामृतमिदं यथोक्तं पर्युपासते |
ye tu dharmyāmṛtamidaṃ yathoktaṃ paryupāsate |
But those who follow this immortal dharma as I have declared it, endowed with faith, regarding Me as the supreme goal — such devotees are exceedingly dear to Me. The chapter's final verse intensifies the refrain with 'atīva me priyāḥ' — not just dear, but exceedingly dear, supremely dear. This is the highest expression of divine love for the devotee in the entire Gita.