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Chapter 9 · The Most Confidential Knowledge · 34 verses

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Krishna’s natureChapter 9 · The Most Confidential Knowledge

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 9.23

Worship and the Supreme enjoyer

येऽप्यन्यदेवताभक्ता यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विता: ।

तेऽपि मामेव कौन्तेय यजन्त्यविधिपूर्वकम् ॥ २३ ॥

ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā

yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ

te ’pi mām eva kaunteya

yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam

Translation

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.

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

1Kṛṣṇa says that those who faithfully worship other gods worship Him indirectly, but in a wrong way.
2Prabhupāda explains that worshiping demigods is like watering a tree’s leaves and branches instead of its root.
3Offer worship to the Supreme Lord only. This automatically satisfies the demigods, who are His representatives.

In the story

Chapter 9, The Most Confidential Knowledge: worship and the supreme enjoyer.

Theme summary

Recognize Kṛṣṇa as the source of all.

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.

Ask about BG 9.23 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.