Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 15

Chapter 9 – Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

ज्ञानयज्ञेन चाप्यन्ये यजन्तो मामुपासते ।
एकत्वेन पृथक्त्वेन बहुधा विश्वतोमुखम् ॥

Transliteration

jñānayajñena cāpyanye yajanto māmupāsate .
ekatvena pṛthaktvena bahudhā viśvatomukham ॥

Meaning

Others, offering the sacrifice of knowledge, worship Me, who face all directions, as the One, as distinct, and in many forms.

Word meanings

ज्ञानयज्ञेन – by the sacrifice of knowledge
च – and
अपि – also
अन्ये – others
यजन्तः – sacrificing, worshipping
माम् – Me
उपासते – worship
एकत्वेन – as one, in identity
पृथक्त्वेन – as distinct
बहुधा – in manifold ways
विश्वतोमुखम् – facing everywhere, the universal form

Anvaya (word order)

अन्ये च अपि ज्ञानयज्ञेन यजन्तः एकत्वेन पृथक्त्वेन बहुधा (च) विश्वतोमुखं माम् उपासते ।

Explanation

The previous verse described devotees who worship through kirtana and prostration. Now Krishna speaks of those who worship through jnana-yajna, the sacrifice of knowledge, in which the offering is not material substance but reflection, discrimination and contemplation of truth. In 4.33 He had declared this sacrifice superior to sacrifices of material things.

Three styles of such worship are named. Ekatvena, as one: these seekers meditate on the identity of the self and the Supreme, contemplating ‘I am That’. Shankara regards this as the highest vision of knowledge.

Prithaktvena, as distinct: these seekers worship with the attitude ‘the Lord is the master, I am His servant’. For Madhva this is the true vision, since the soul is eternally dependent on and distinct from God. Bahudha, in many ways: these worship the one Supreme in His many forms, as sun, Indra, fire and so on.

Ramanuja reads the three words together: the devotee worships the Lord as one, as present in the many distinct things of the world, and in manifold modes, since the whole universe is His body. Vishvatomukham, ‘facing every direction’, sums it up: from whatever side one turns towards Him, He is already facing that person.

Note the generosity of the verse. Krishna does not declare a single method alone valid; He acknowledges that seekers of differing temperaments approach Him in differing ways and all arrive at Him.

Context

Verse 14 described worship through devotion. This verse describes worship through the sacrifice of knowledge in various attitudes. In verses 16 to 19 Krishna explains how He is ‘facing everywhere’: He is the sacrifice, the healing herb, the father and mother, the goal, and more.

Life lesson

There are many roads to the Supreme: some realise oneness, some serve as devoted servants, some see Him in every form. Respect the practices of others and follow with sincerity the path that suits your own nature.

Key terms

Jnana-yajna: the sacrifice of knowledge, worship through understanding
Ekatva: oneness, non-difference
Prithaktva: distinctness, the master-servant relation
Vishvatomukha: facing all directions, present everywhere