Chapter 9, Verse 31
क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा शश्वच्छान्तिं निगच्छति | कौन्तेय प्रतिजानीहि न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति ||९-३१||
kṣipraṃ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvacchāntiṃ nigacchati . kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati ||9-31||
Meaning
9.31 Soon he becomes righteous and attains to eternal peace; O Arjuna, proclaim thou for certain that My devotee never perishes.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna completes the promise of the previous verse. The sincere devotee, whatever his past, kshipram — swiftly — becomes a dharmatma, a soul established in righteousness, and reaches shashvat shanti, lasting peace. The turning of the heart sets in motion a rapid inner cleansing; devotion itself purifies and reshapes character.
Then comes the great pledge, so absolute that Krishna asks Arjuna to proclaim it boldly to the world: 'My devotee never perishes' — na me bhaktah pranashyati. No sincere love offered to the Divine is ever wasted, never lost, never abandoned. This is the unshakeable foundation of bhakti. Whatever storms may come, the one who has truly turned toward God is held by an unfailing grace. For the seeker, it is a guarantee to lean on completely: the path of devotion, once truly begun, cannot fail.
💡 Key Takeaway
Once you sincerely turn toward the Divine, no devotion is ever wasted — the path of the heart cannot fail.
Related Verses
राजविद्या राजगुह्यं पवित्रमिदमुत्तमम् | प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं सुसुखं कर्तुमव्ययम् ||९-२||
rājavidyā rājaguhyaṃ pavitramidamuttamam . pratyakṣāvagamaṃ dharmyaṃ susukhaṃ kartumavyayam ||9-2||
9.2 This is the kingl science, the kingly secret, the supreme purifier, realisable by direct intuitional knowledge, according to righteousness, very easy to perform and imperishable.
महात्मानस्तु मां पार्थ दैवीं प्रकृतिमाश्रिताः | भजन्त्यनन्यमनसो ज्ञात्वा भूतादिमव्ययम् ||९-१३||
mahātmānastu māṃ pārtha daivīṃ prakṛtimāśritāḥ . bhajantyananyamanaso jñātvā bhūtādimavyayam ||9-13||
9.13 But the great souls, O Arjuna, partaking of My divine nature, worship Me with a single mind (with the mind devoted to nothing else), knowing Me as the imperishable source of beings.
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.