Sanskrit
येऽप्यन्यदेवताभक्ता यजन्ते श्रद्धयाऽन्विताः । तेऽपि मामेव कौन्तेय यजन्त्यविधिपूर्वकम् ॥
ye 'py anyadevatābhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ te 'pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhipūrvakam
Translation
Even the devotees of other Shining Ones, who worship full of faith, they also worship Me, O son of Kuntî, though contrary to the ancient rule.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A notable act of generosity toward practice the text doesn’t formally endorse: worshippers of other Shining Ones, provided the faith is genuine (śraddhayā-anvitāḥ), are said to reach Krishna too — just “without the proper method” (avidhi-pūrvakam). The claim isn’t syncretism for its own sake; verse 24 immediately supplies the metaphysical reason. Worship never actually escapes Krishna, only the worshipper’s own understanding of what they’re doing does. Avidhi-pūrvakam — “not by the [right] rule” — concedes the method is off while affirming the faith still connects, because (BG 9.24) there is no other recipient of any sacrifice. Compare the harsher BG 7.20–BG 7.23.
Study deeper
Word by word
- ye 'py anyadevatābhaktāये ऽप्य् अन्यदेवताभक्ता
- even those devoted to other gods (ye + api + anya-devatā-bhaktāḥ)
- yajante śraddhayānvitāḥयजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विताः
- who worship, endowed with faith (yajante + śraddhayā-anvitāḥ)
- te 'pi mām eva kaunteyaते ऽपि मां एव कौन्तेय
- they too [worship] Me alone, O son of Kuntī (te + api + mām + eva + kaunteya)
- yajanty avidhipūrvakamयजन्त्य् अविधिपूर्वकं
- [but] worship without the [proper] rule (yajanti + avidhi-pūrvakam)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Notice the specific charge: not that these worshippers reach nothing, and not that their devotion is false, but that it proceeds avidhi-pūrvakam — without the proper method. That’s a procedural complaint, not a metaphysical one, and it quietly does more generous work than a flat inclusion would: it credits the faith while still preserving that a more direct path exists.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When someone reaches a value you hold by a route very different from yours, credit the sincerity of their path before you critique its method — a shared destination doesn't require an identical procedure.
Professional
- When a colleague solves a shared problem in a way you wouldn't have chosen, check whether their approach actually reaches the real goal before dismissing it as "not the right way" — a procedural objection isn't the same as a wrong outcome.
Family & Social
- If someone close to you expresses care in an unfamiliar way, consider that it may be reaching you all the same — by an unfamiliar route, not a wrong one.
Ask yourself
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