Chapter 9, Verse 33
किं पुनर्ब्राह्मणाः पुण्या भक्ता राजर्षयस्तथा | अनित्यमसुखं लोकमिमं प्राप्य भजस्व माम् ||९-३३||
kiṃ punarbrāhmaṇāḥ puṇyā bhaktā rājarṣayastathā . anityamasukhaṃ lokamimaṃ prāpya bhajasva mām ||9-33||
Meaning
9.33 How much more (easily) then the hold Brahmins and devoted royal saints (attain the goal); having come to this impermanent and unhappy world, do thou worship Me.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Having declared that even those of humble birth attain the goal, Krishna draws the natural conclusion: how much more easily, then, do the pure-hearted and the devoted royal sages. The point is not to reinstate hierarchy but to show, by reasoning 'from the lesser to the greater,' that the path is sure for all who walk it sincerely.
Then comes a tender turn directly to Arjuna, and to every reader: 'Having come to this anitya (impermanent) and asukha (joyless) world, worship Me.' Krishna gently names a truth we feel but resist — that worldly life, by its very nature fleeting and unsatisfying, cannot be our final resting place. Precisely because the world is transient and incapable of lasting fulfilment, the wise turn their hearts to the eternal. The verse is an invitation born of compassion: make the most of this brief, precious human life by devoting it to the Divine.
💡 Key Takeaway
This fleeting world can never fully satisfy, so make use of this rare human life by devoting your heart to the eternal.
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.