Devotion opens the highest path to all.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
मां हि पार्थ व्यपाश्रित्य येऽपि स्युः पापयोनयः |स्त्रियो वैश्यास्तथा शूद्रास्तेऽपि यान्ति परां गतिम् ||९-३२||
māṃ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye.api syuḥ pāpayonayaḥ . striyo vaiśyāstathā śūdrāste.api yānti parāṃ gatim ||9-32||
Use this verse when someone feels excluded from spirituality.
Meaning
O Partha, even those considered of difficult birth, women, Vaishyas, and Shudras, taking refuge in Me, attain the supreme goal.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Krishna’s refuge is open to all sincere seekers.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
This verse should be presented as radically inclusive: spiritual attainment is not limited by social status, gender, class, or background when one takes refuge in Krishna.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna now makes explicit the radical inclusiveness of the path of devotion. Whatever one's birth or station — and he names those whom the society of his time deemed lowly or barred from Vedic ritual — all who take refuge in him attain para gati, the Supreme Goal. The door to the highest realisation is open to absolutely everyone.
This was a revolutionary teaching. Where the ritual tradition restricted access by caste, gender, and birth, bhakti sweeps away every such barrier. The only qualification is sincere refuge in the Divine — vyapashritya.
Love and surrender require no credentials of birth, learning, or status. In this universal welcome lies the Gita's deepest equality: the Supreme is reachable by every human being who turns to it wholeheartedly. No one is excluded from grace except by their own unwillingness to seek it.
In daily life
Never let social identity block spiritual confidence.
A person from any background can build a direct relationship with Krishna.
Try this today
Affirm that Krishna’s refuge is open to you.
Krishna’s refuge is open to me.Reflect
Where do I feel spiritually excluded?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘स्त्रियः वैश्याः तथा शूद्राः’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on devotion, in other chapters
- Verse 7.21The Divine strengthens sincere faith wherever it is offered — bring genuine devotion, and it will be steadied from within.
- Verse 11.38 · ArjunaThe Divine is the knower, the known, and the resting-place of all — the one refuge that pervades everything.
- Verse 4.11However sincerely you approach the divine, it meets you in that very way — every honest path is honored.
- Verse 5.18The wise see the same divine Self in every being, high or low — equal vision is the natural fruit of self-knowledge.
Swipe left for 9.33 · Impermanence should deepen devotion.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 9.32
Who says Bhagavad Gita 9.32, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 9.32, in Chapter 9, Raja Vidya Yoga (Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 9.32 mean?
O Partha, even those considered of difficult birth, women, Vaishyas, and Shudras, taking refuge in Me, attain the supreme goal. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 9.32 for daily life?
Never let social identity block spiritual confidence. A person from any background can build a direct relationship with Krishna.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 9.32 mean?
माम् हि — Me indeed; पार्थ — O Partha (Arjuna); व्यपाश्रित्य — taking refuge in; ये अपि स्युः — even those who may be; पापयोनयः — of lowly / sinful birth.
Where does verse 9.32 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 32 of 34 in Chapter 9, Raja Vidya Yoga. The next verse is 9.33.