Sanskrit
मयि चानन्ययोगेन भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी । विविक्तदेशसेवित्वमरतिर्जनसंसदि ॥
mayi cānanyayogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī viviktadeśasevitvam aratir janasaṃsadi
Translation
Unflinching devotion to Me by yoga, without other objects, resort to sequestered places, absence of enjoyment in the company of men,
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Unwavering devotion to Krishna specifically, plus a preference for solitude over crowds, rounds out the list with something the earlier items didn’t have: a relational rather than purely internal criterion. It’s a reminder that this chapter’s jnana isn’t pure Samkhya-style analytical knowledge — it folds bhakti in as one of its constituent qualities, anticipating chapter 12’s fuller treatment of devotion as its own path to the same goal. Avyabhicāriṇī bhakti — unwavering devotion to Krishna specifically — folded into the definition of jñāna as one of its constituent qualities. This chapter’s knowledge is not pure Sāṅkhya analysis; it anticipates chapter 12’s treatment of bhakti as its own route to the same goal.
Study deeper
Word by word
- mayi cānanyayogenaमयि चानन्ययोगेन
- toward Me, by undivided yoga (mayi + ca + ananya-yogena)
- bhaktir avyabhicāriṇīभक्तिः अव्यभिचारिणी
- unwavering devotion (bhaktiḥ + avyabhicāriṇī)
- viviktadeśasevitvamविविक्तदेशसेवित्वं
- resorting to solitary places (vivikta-deśa-sevitvam)
- aratir janasaṃsadiअरतिः जनसंसदि
- distaste for the throng of people (aratiḥ + jana-saṃsadi)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Unwavering devotion to one and withdrawal from the many arrive in the same breath, and that pairing isn’t incidental — undivided attention has to come from somewhere. This verse names the trade explicitly: concentrating exclusively on one relationship is compatible with reduced investment in the crowd of lesser ones, not because company itself is bad, but because total devotion and diffuse sociability are competing for the same finite attention.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- If you want to go deep with one relationship, one practice, or one pursuit, expect it to draw down the time and energy you'd otherwise spend spread thin across many lesser ones — that's not a flaw in the pursuit, it's the actual mechanism of depth, worth choosing on purpose rather than apologizing for.
Professional
- If you're committing deeply to one core initiative, expect and defend a corresponding pullback from broad, shallow engagement elsewhere — fewer meetings, fewer side commitments; concentrated focus and wide availability draw on the same finite attention.
Family & Social
- If you're choosing to invest deeply in your closest relationships, it's fine, even necessary, to let time with a wider circle of acquaintances shrink; total presence with a few people and thin presence with many are competing for the same hours.
Ask yourself
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