Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 31

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

Sanskrit verse

क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा शश्वच्छान्तिं निगच्छति ।
कौन्तेय प्रतिजानीहि न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति ॥

Transliteration

kṣipraṃ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvacchāntiṃ nigacchati .
kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati ॥

Meaning

Quickly he becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunti, proclaim it boldly: My devotee never perishes.

Word meanings

क्षिप्रम् – quickly
भवति – becomes
धर्मात्मा – righteous
शश्वत् – lasting, eternal
शान्तिम् – peace
निगच्छति – attains
कौन्तेय – O son of Kunti
प्रतिजानीहि – declare, proclaim with certainty
न – never
मे – My
भक्तः – devotee
प्रणश्यति – perishes

Anvaya (word order)

(सः) क्षिप्रं धर्मात्मा भवति, शश्वत् शान्तिं निगच्छति; कौन्तेय, (त्वं) प्रतिजानीहि — मे भक्तः न प्रणश्यति ।

Explanation

The previous verse said that even a wrongdoer who worships with undivided devotion should be considered a saint. One might object: his faults are still there, so how can he be a saint? Krishna answers: kshipram bhavati dharmatma, ‘he quickly becomes righteous’. Devotion is so powerful that it changes a person’s very nature. As iron placed in fire glows red and bright like the fire itself, a mind joined to God fills with God’s qualities.

Shashvach chhantim nigacchati: he attains everlasting peace. Worldly joys are temporary, as verse 21 showed; but the peace a devotee receives never ends, because its source is the imperishable Lord.

Then comes one of the most famous lines of the Gita: kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranashyati, ‘O Arjuna, proclaim it: My devotee never perishes.’ Note that Krishna does not make the vow Himself; He asks Arjuna to make it. Tradition finds a beautiful meaning here: the Lord sometimes breaks His own word for His devotee, as when, to honour Bhishma’s vow, He broke His promise not to take up a weapon in the war. But He never lets a devotee’s word fail. So He tells Arjuna: you make the promise, and I shall keep it.

Na pranashyati, ‘does not perish’, means that the devotee suffers no spiritual ruin. He may stray or stumble, but the Lord holds him up. In 6.40 Krishna had said the same: ‘one who does good never comes to grief.’

Context

Verse 30 said that even a wrongdoer becomes a saint through exclusive devotion. Here the result is given, together with the Lord’s firm promise. In the next verse Krishna declares that whatever one’s birth or social standing, whoever takes refuge in Him reaches the supreme goal.

Life lesson

True devotion transforms character swiftly, not slowly. Trust the Lord: one who has taken refuge in Him is never spiritually lost. In hard times this assurance is the greatest support.

Key terms

Dharmatma: righteous soul
Shashvat shanti: peace that never ends
Pratijanihi: proclaim with certainty
Na pranashyati: never perishes, never falls to ruin