Chapter 9, Verse 23
येऽप्यन्यदेवता भक्ता यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विताः | तेऽपि मामेव कौन्तेय यजन्त्यविधिपूर्वकम् ||९-२३||
ye.apyanyadevatābhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ . te.api māmeva kaunteya yajantyavidhipūrvakam ||9-23||
Meaning
9.23 Even those devotees who, endowed with faith, worship other gods, worship Me alone, O Arjuna, b the wrong method.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna offers a remarkably inclusive teaching. Those who, full of faith, worship various other deities are in truth worshipping him alone — for he is the one Reality behind every divine form. No sincere devotion is ever wasted or misdirected; it all flows toward the single source.
Yet he adds a gentle qualification: such worship is avidhi-purvakam, 'not according to the right method.' The faith is genuine, but the understanding is incomplete. They reach toward the One while imagining many, and so do not realise the fullness of what they seek. This balances generosity with discernment: Krishna honours every faithful heart, yet quietly invites it toward clearer vision. The lesson is one of profound respect for diverse devotion, paired with the encouragement to seek the unity that lies beneath all forms.
💡 Key Takeaway
Every sincere act of worship reaches the one Reality behind all forms, though clearer understanding deepens its fruit.
Related Verses
अश्रद्दधानाः पुरुषा धर्मस्यास्य परन्तप | अप्राप्य मां निवर्तन्ते मृत्युसंसारवर्त्मनि ||९-३||
aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā dharmasyāsya parantapa . aprāpya māṃ nivartante mṛtyusaṃsāravartmani ||9-3||
9.3 Those who have no faith in this Dharma (knowledge of the Self), O Parantapa (Arjuna), return to the path of this world of death without attaining Me.
सततं कीर्तयन्तो मां यतन्तश्च दृढव्रताः | नमस्यन्तश्च मां भक्त्या नित्ययुक्ता उपासते ||९-१४||
satataṃ kīrtayanto māṃ yatantaśca dṛḍhavratāḥ . namasyantaśca māṃ bhaktyā nityayuktā upāsate ||9-14||
9.14 Always glorifying Me, striving,firm in vows, prostrating themselves before Me, they worship Me with devotion always steadfast.
ज्ञानयज्ञेन चाप्यन्ये यजन्तो मामुपासते | एकत्वेन पृथक्त्वेन बहुधा विश्वतोमुखम् ||९-१५||
jñānayajñena cāpyanye yajanto māmupāsate . ekatvena pṛthaktvena bahudhā viśvatomukham ||9-15||
9.15 Others also sacrificing with the wisdom-sacrifice worship Me, the All-faced, as one, as distinct, and as manifold.