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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 9.23
येऽप्यन्यदेवताभक्ता यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विता: ।
तेऽपि मामेव कौन्तेय यजन्त्यविधिपूर्वकम् ॥ २३ ॥
ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā
yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
te ’pi mām eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kuntī, but they do so in a wrong way.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Kṛṣṇa says that those who faithfully worship other gods worship Him indirectly, but in a wrong way.
Prabhupāda explains that worshiping demigods is like watering a tree’s leaves and branches instead of its root.
Offer worship to the Supreme Lord only. This automatically satisfies the demigods, who are His representatives.
Demigod worship without knowledge of Krishna’s supremacy is called “Avidhi-purvakam” – It is a sign of less intelligence because such worship is offered to ‘Me’ only, but indirectly
Three Analogies for indirect worship of Krishna as the improper method
Pouring water on leaves and branches and not the roots
Feeding different parts of the body and not the stomach
Not to follow the laws of the government and offering a bribe to the officers
Texts 9.22 & 9.23
Because demigod worshipers are ultimately worshipping Krishna, do they achieve the same result as Krishna’s unalloyed devotees? In the next verse, Krishna does not approve the unnecessary worship of demigods.
Texts 9.23 & 9.24
What happens to such worshipers as mentioned in Text 9.23? — “They simply fall down”
Duratmas – Fools who think Krishna’s form is ordinary are defeated in their endeavours (9.11 – 9.12)
Mahatmas – Those who know that Krishna has a transcendental form take shelter of Him and worship Him (9.13 – 9.14)
Indirect worshippers – All who take shelter of a conception of Supreme and worship it, are ultimately worshipping Krishna, but they worship Him indirectly – These are of 3 types:
Ekatvena – the monist, the lowest, worships himself as one with the Supreme (9.11 – 9.12)
Visvato-mukham – a worshiper of the material, universal form is the best (9.16 – 9.19)
Prthakvena – a demigod worshiper, is situated higher than the ‘ekatvena’ (9.20 – 9.25)
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: bhagavān, vibhūti.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 9.23 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to krishna’s nature?
Notice something excellent and see it as His opulence.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.