Arjuna kneeling in the dust with his bow laid down beside him and Shri Krishna standing over him with a hand extended, the sun setting behind the ranked army

Chapter 12 of 18 · 20 verses

भक्तियोगThe yoga of devotion

The joint-shortest chapter, with the fifteenth, and the portrait of the devotee: without hatred, friendly, compassionate, free of ego.

What does devotion look like in the way I treat people?

Like a list of ordinary qualities — and the chapter ends on them rather than on a vision. After the cosmic form, Arjuna asks which worship is better and receives a workable ladder: fix the mind on me; if you cannot, practise; if you cannot, work for me; if you cannot, give up the fruit (12.8–11). Then the test: one who hates no being, friendly and compassionate, without “mine”, the same in pleasure and pain (12.13). This still leaves room for boundaries and for plain speech.

Read it with this in mindDevotion becomes visible as character: non-hatred, friendliness, compassion, restraint and freedom from causing needless agitation. Compassion still permits boundaries and courageous speech.

Hansi Gita Bhawan Trust · The Gita for Life

Plate 12 — Bhakti Yoga: Love as the highest path

Where we are in the dialogue

The Way of Devotion

After the cosmic vision, Arjuna asks about personal and unmanifest worship. Krishna offers a practical ladder: absorption, repeated practice, work for him, then relinquishment of fruits. The chapter closes not with spectacle but with the qualities of a dear devotee.

Words to carry through: personal and unmanifest worship; practice ladder; compassion; non-hatred; steadiness
The chapter’s spine: 12.1–12 12.13–20
Threads running through it: Bhakti Practice Character

12.1–7Personal Lord and unmanifestArjuna asks which mode of worship is better; Krishna explains both while emphasizing difficulty of the unmanifest for embodied beings.
अर्जुन उवाचArjuna said
12.1
एवं सततयुक्ता ये भक्तास्त्वां पर्युपासते ।
ये चाप्यक्षरमव्यक्तं तेषां के योगवित्तमाः ॥
evaṁ satatayuktā ye bhaktāstvāṁ paryupāsate / ye cāpyakṣaramavyaktaṁ teṣāṁ ke yogavittamāḥ
Some devotees stay constantly joined to you and worship your form; others worship the imperishable and unmanifest. Of these two, which do you regard as better established in yoga?
कुछ भक्त सदा आपसे जुड़े रहकर आपकी उपासना करते हैं, और कुछ अक्षर तथा अव्यक्त की उपासना करते हैं। इन दोनों में योग को सबसे अच्छी तरह जानने वाले कौन हैं?
Trust’s themeBhakti
श्रीभगवानुवाचShri Bhagavan said
12.2
मय्यावेश्य मनो ये मां नित्ययुक्ता उपासते ।
श्रद्धया परयोपेतास्ते मे युक्ततमा मताः ॥
mayyāveśya mano ye māṁ nityayuktā upāsate / śraddhayā parayopetāste me yuktatamā matāḥ
Those who settle their mind on me and worship me, always joined to me and filled with the highest faith — these I consider the most perfectly established in yoga.
जो अपना मन मुझमें लगाकर, सदा मुझसे जुड़े रहकर और परम श्रद्धा से भरकर मेरी उपासना करते हैं, उन्हें मैं योग में सबसे अधिक स्थित मानता हूँ।
Trust’s themeBhakti
12.3
ये त्वक्षरमनिर्देश्यमव्यक्तं पर्युपासते ।
सर्वत्रगमचिन्त्यं च कूटस्थमचलं ध्रुवम् ॥
ye tvakṣaramanirdeśyamavyaktaṁ paryupāsate / sarvatragamacintyaṁ ca kūṭasthamacalaṁ dhruvam
But there are others who worship the imperishable: that which cannot be defined or seen, which is present everywhere, beyond thought, unchanging, immovable and constant —
और कुछ ऐसे हैं जो उस अक्षर की उपासना करते हैं, जो अनिर्वचनीय और अव्यक्त है, सब जगह व्याप्त है, चिंतन से परे, अटल, अचल और नित्य है —
Trust’s themeBhakti
12.4
संनियम्येन्द्रियग्रामं सर्वत्र समबुद्धयः ।
ते प्राप्नुवन्ति मामेव सर्वभूतहिते रताः ॥
saṁniyamyendriyagrāmaṁ sarvatra samabuddhayaḥ / te prāpnuvanti māmeva sarvabhūtahite ratāḥ
Holding the whole range of their senses in check, even-minded towards everything alike, and taking joy in the welfare of all beings, they too come to me.
अपनी सारी इंद्रियों को वश में रखकर, सब जगह समान दृष्टि रखते हुए और सब प्राणियों के हित में लगे रहकर, वे भी मुझ तक ही पहुँचते हैं।
Trust’s themeBhakti
12.5
क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् ।
अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते ॥
kleśo’dhikatarasteṣāmavyaktāsaktacetasām / avyaktā hi gatirduḥkhaṁ dehavadbhiravāpyate
The struggle is greater for those whose minds are set on the unmanifest, because a goal without form is hard to reach for anyone who lives in a body.
जिनका मन अव्यक्त में लगा है, उनका परिश्रम अधिक है, क्योंकि देह में रहने वाले के लिए अव्यक्त तक पहुँचने का मार्ग कठिन है।
Trust’s themeBhakti
12.6
ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि मयि संन्यस्य मत्पराः ।
अनन्येनैव योगेन मां ध्यायन्त उपासते ॥
ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi saṁnyasya matparāḥ / ananyenaiva yogena māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate
But those who hand over all their actions to me, who take me as their highest goal, and who worship me with an undivided heart, meditating on me alone —
परंतु जो अपने सारे कर्म मुझे सौंपकर, मुझे ही परम मानकर, अनन्य योग से मेरा ध्यान करते हुए मेरी उपासना करते हैं —
Trust’s themeBhakti
12.7
तेषामहं समुद्धर्ता मृत्युसंसारसागरात् ।
भवामि नचिरात्पार्थ मय्यावेशितचेतसाम् ॥
teṣāmahaṁ samuddhartā mṛtyusaṁsārasāgarāt / bhavāmi nacirātpārtha mayyāveśitacetasām
these I lift before long out of the ocean of death and rebirth, Partha, because they have set their minds on me.
हे पार्थ, उनका मन मुझमें लगा होने के कारण मैं शीघ्र ही उन्हें मृत्यु और संसार के सागर से बाहर निकालने वाला बन जाता हूँ।
Trust’s themeBhakti
12.8–12A graded pathFix the mind; if unable, practice; if unable, work for Krishna; if unable, relinquish fruits.
12.8
मय्येव मन आधत्स्व मयि बुद्धिं निवेशय ।
निवसिष्यसि मय्येव अत ऊर्ध्वं न संशयः ॥
mayyeva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya / nivasiṣyasi mayyeva ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśayaḥ
Fix your mind on me alone and let your understanding rest in me. From then on you will live in me — of this there is no doubt.
अपना मन मुझमें ही लगाओ और अपनी बुद्धि को मुझमें स्थिर करो। इसके बाद तुम मुझमें ही निवास करोगे, इसमें कोई संशय नहीं।
Read underBhaktiTrust’s themePractice
12.9
अथ चित्तं समाधातुं न शक्नोषि मयि स्थिरम् ।
अभ्यासयोगेन ततो मामिच्छाप्तुं धनञ्जय ॥
atha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram / abhyāsayogena tato māmicchāptuṁ dhanañjaya
If you cannot hold your thought steady on me, then seek to reach me through the yoga of repeated practice, Dhananjaya.
यदि तुम अपने चित्त को मुझमें स्थिर नहीं कर पाते, तो हे धनंजय, अभ्यास योग के द्वारा मुझे पाने की इच्छा करो।
Trust’s themePractice
12.10
अभ्यासेऽप्यसमर्थोऽसि मत्कर्मपरमो भव ।
मदर्थमपि कर्माणि कुर्वन्सिद्धिमवाप्स्यसि ॥
abhyāse’pyasamartho’si matkarmaparamo bhava / madarthamapi karmāṇi kurvansiddhimavāpsyasi
If you are unable even to practise, then make my work your highest aim. Even by doing your actions for my sake you will reach perfection.
यदि अभ्यास में भी तुम असमर्थ हो, तो मेरे लिए किए जाने वाले कर्म को ही अपना परम लक्ष्य बनाओ। मेरे निमित्त कर्म करते हुए भी तुम सिद्धि पा लोगे।
Trust’s themePractice
12.11
अथैतदप्यशक्तोऽसि कर्तुं मद्योगमाश्रितः ।
सर्वकर्मफलत्यागं ततः कुरु यतात्मवान् ॥
athaitadapyaśakto’si kartuṁ madyogamāśritaḥ / sarvakarmaphalatyāgaṁ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān
And if you cannot manage even this, then take refuge in union with me, hold yourself in check, and give up the fruit of every action you perform.
और यदि यह भी तुमसे न हो सके, तो मेरे योग का आश्रय लेकर, स्वयं को संयत रखते हुए, अपने सब कर्मों के फल का त्याग करो।
Trust’s themePractice
12.12
श्रेयो हि ज्ञानमभ्यासाज्ज्ञानाद्ध्यानं विशिष्यते ।
ध्यानात्कर्मफलत्यागस्त्यागाच्छान्तिरनन्तरम् ॥
śreyo hi jñānamabhyāsājjñānāddhyānaṁ viśiṣyate / dhyānātkarmaphalatyāgastyāgācchāntiranantaram
Knowledge is better than mechanical practice, meditation is better than knowledge, and giving up the fruit of action is better than meditation; peace follows such letting go at once.
अभ्यास से ज्ञान श्रेष्ठ है, ज्ञान से ध्यान श्रेष्ठ है, और ध्यान से कर्मफल का त्याग श्रेष्ठ है; ऐसे त्याग से तुरंत शांति मिलती है।
Trust’s themePractice
12.13–20Qualities of the dear devoteeNon-hatred, friendliness, compassion, equanimity, restraint and freedom from agitation embody devotion.
12.13
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च ।
निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी ॥
adveṣṭā sarvabhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca / nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ samaduḥkhasukhaḥ kṣamī
He bears no ill will towards any living being, is friendly and kind to all, free of the sense of mine and of pride, the same in pain and pleasure, and forgiving.
वह किसी भी प्राणी से द्वेष नहीं करता, सबके प्रति मैत्री और करुणा रखता है, ममता और अहंकार से मुक्त है, सुख-दुःख में समान है, और क्षमाशील है।
Read underSama-darshanaTrust’s themeCharacter
Devotion becomes character
Non-hatred, friendliness and compassion begin a long description of the devotee dear to Krishna. Bhakti is therefore tested in disposition, not only ritual feeling.
Read deeper · Read through 12.13–20, then compare 16.1–3 and 17.14–16.
Hansi Gita Bhawan Trust · The Gita for Life
12.14
सन्तुष्टः सततं योगी यतात्मा दृढनिश्चयः ।
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः ॥
santuṣṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛḍhaniścayaḥ / mayyarpitamanobuddhiryo madbhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
He is content, always joined in yoga, in command of himself and firm in his resolve, and he has given his mind and understanding over to me. Such a devotee is dear to me.
वह संतुष्ट रहता है, सदा योग में स्थिर है, स्वयं पर संयम रखता है और दृढ़ निश्चय वाला है; अपना मन और बुद्धि उसने मुझे सौंप दी है। ऐसा भक्त मुझे प्रिय है।
Read underSama-darshanaTrust’s themeCharacter
12.15
यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको लोकान्नोद्विजते च यः ।
हर्षामर्षभयोद्वेगैर्मुक्तो यः स च मे प्रियः ॥
yasmānnodvijate loko lokānnodvijate ca yaḥ / harṣāmarṣabhayodvegairmukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ
The world is not disturbed by him and he is not disturbed by the world; he is free of elation, resentment, fear and agitation, and he too is dear to me.
जिससे संसार विचलित नहीं होता और जो स्वयं संसार से विचलित नहीं होता, जो हर्ष, ईर्ष्या, भय और उद्वेग से मुक्त है — वह भी मुझे प्रिय है।
Trust’s themeCharacter
12.16
अनपेक्षः शुचिर्दक्ष उदासीनो गतव्यथः ।
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः ॥
anapekṣaḥ śucirdakṣa udāsīno gatavyathaḥ / sarvārambhaparityāgī yo madbhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
He wants nothing for himself, is clean, capable, unbiased and free of distress, and he has let go of every self-serving undertaking. Such a devotee is dear to me.
वह अपने लिए कुछ नहीं चाहता, भीतर-बाहर से शुद्ध है, दक्ष है, पक्षपात से रहित और व्यथा से मुक्त है; उसने अपने सब स्वार्थी आरंभ छोड़ दिए हैं। ऐसा भक्त मुझे प्रिय है।
Trust’s themeCharacter
12.17
यो न हृष्यति न द्वेष्टि न शोचति न काङ्क्षति ।
शुभाशुभपरित्यागी भक्तिमान्यः स मे प्रियः ॥
yo na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi na śocati na kāṅkṣati / śubhāśubhaparityāgī bhaktimānyaḥ sa me priyaḥ
He does not exult and does not hate, does not grieve and does not crave, and he lets go of both the welcome and the unwelcome. Such a devoted person is dear to me.
वह न हर्षित होता है न द्वेष करता है, न शोक करता है न कामना; शुभ और अशुभ दोनों को उसने छोड़ दिया है। ऐसा भक्तिमान मुझे प्रिय है।
Trust’s themeCharacter
12.18
समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः ।
शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ॥
samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ / śītoṣṇasukhaduḥkheṣu samaḥ saṅgavivarjitaḥ
He is the same towards an enemy and a friend, the same in honour and disgrace, the same in cold and heat and in pleasure and pain, and he is free of attachment.
वह शत्रु और मित्र के प्रति समान रहता है, मान और अपमान में समान रहता है, सर्दी-गर्मी और सुख-दुःख में समान रहता है, और आसक्ति से मुक्त है।
Trust’s themeCharacter
12.19
तुल्यनिन्दास्तुतिर्मौनी सन्तुष्टो येन केनचित् ।
अनिकेतः स्थिरमतिर्भक्तिमान्मे प्रियो नरः ॥
tulyanindāstutirmaunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit / aniketaḥ sthiramatirbhaktimānme priyo naraḥ
Blame and praise weigh the same with him; he keeps quiet, is content with whatever comes, is tied to no fixed home, and his mind is steady. Such a devoted person is dear to me.
निंदा और स्तुति उसके लिए समान हैं; वह मौन रहता है, जो मिल जाए उसी में संतुष्ट रहता है, किसी घर से बँधा नहीं है, और उसकी बुद्धि स्थिर है। ऐसा भक्तिमान व्यक्ति मुझे प्रिय है।
Trust’s themeCharacter
12.20
ये तु धर्म्यामृतमिदं यथोक्तं पर्युपासते ।
श्रद्दधाना मत्परमा भक्तास्तेऽतीव मे प्रियाः ॥
ye tu dharmyāmṛtamidaṁ yathoktaṁ paryupāsate / śraddadhānā matparamā bhaktāste’tīva me priyāḥ
Those who follow this nectar of dharma just as I have set it out, who are full of faith and hold me as the highest — such devotees are very dear to me.
जो इस धर्ममय अमृत का, जैसा मैंने कहा है वैसा ही, पालन करते हैं, जो श्रद्धा से भरे हैं और मुझे ही परम मानते हैं — वे भक्त मुझे अत्यंत प्रिय हैं।
Trust’s themeCharacter
THE HUMAN QUESTION
Am I identical with body, mind and experience?
Hansi Gita Bhawan Trust · The Gita for Life

Sanskrit transcribed from published texts and cross-checked verse by verse; transliteration generated from the Devanagari. The English and Hindi renderings are the Trust’s own.

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