Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7, Verse 23

Chapter 7 – Jnana Vijnana Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम् ।
देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि ॥

Transliteration

antavattu phalaṃ teṣāṃ tadbhavatyalpamedhasām .
devāndevayajo yānti madbhaktā yānti māmapi ॥

Meaning

But the fruit gained by those of small understanding is perishable. Worshippers of the deities go to the deities; My devotees come to Me.

Word meanings

अन्तवत् – having an end, perishable
तु – but
फलम् – fruit
तेषाम् – of them
तत् – that
भवति – is
अल्पमेधसाम् – of those of small understanding
देवान् – to the deities
देवयजः – worshippers of the deities
यान्ति – go
मद्भक्ताः – My devotees
माम् – to Me
अपि – indeed

Anvaya (word order)

तु तेषाम् अल्पमेधसां तत् फलम् अन्तवत् भवति; देवयजः देवान् यान्ति, मद्भक्ताः माम् अपि यान्ति ।

Explanation

In the previous verses Krishna said that He steadies the faith of the worshippers of deities and grants them fruits. Now He states the limitation of those fruits: antavat tu phalam tesham — their fruit is perishable. Wealth, position, health, even heaven — all come to an end with time. Even heavenly happiness ends when merit is exhausted, as Krishna will make clear in 9.21.

Krishna calls such worshippers alpa-medhas — of small understanding. This may sound harsh, but the sense is that they have kept their vision narrow. To stand before an infinite ocean and be satisfied with a single cup of water is narrowness of vision. Infinite bliss can be had from the Lord, yet they are content to ask for passing fruits.

Then Krishna states a clear principle: devan deva-yajo yanti mad-bhakta yanti mam api — worshippers of deities go to the deities, and My devotees come to Me. As one worships, so one's destination. The deities themselves are within creation and are absorbed at dissolution; reaching them too is limited. But the Lord is infinite and imperishable; attaining Him is eternal.

Shankara observes that the effort involved in both kinds of worship is the same, and yet people do not come to Me, whose fruit is infinite — how regrettable this is. The verse inspires the seeker to set a lofty goal for his worship.

Context

Verse 7.22 said that the Lord grants the fruits gained by worshippers of deities. This verse compares the perishability of those fruits with the infinite fruit of devotion to the Lord. In the next verse (7.24) Krishna says that people of small understanding, not knowing His supreme nature, take Him to be an ordinary person.

Life lesson

Keep a high aim in life. Small achievements are good, but they do not last. Of the effort you spend on passing things, give some part to the eternal goal that will never end.

Key terms

Antavat: having an end, perishable
Alpa-medhas: of limited understanding or vision
Deva-yaj: a worshipper of the deities
Mad-bhakta: a devotee of the Lord