Mūla — the verse
Gita Press numberingTranslation
Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣyaThe result of those who are of poor intellect is indeed limited. The worshippers of gods go to the gods, while My devotees go to Me alone.
हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda
परन्तु उन अल्प बुद्धि पुरुषों का वह फल नाशवान् होता है। देवताओं के पूजक देवताओं को प्राप्त होते हैं और मेरे भक्त मुझे ही प्राप्त होते हैं।।
Pronunciation — Vaamshii
from VaamshiiWord by word
padārthaThemes
from The Thematic Companion to the Bhagavad GītāMeaning — Questions & Solutions
from Q&A with KnA“But finite is the fruit won by these of small understanding; the worshippers of the gods go to the gods, My devotees come to Me.” Kṛṣṇa marks the difference not in the sincerity of the worship but in its ceiling. The devas grant what belongs to their own realm — bounded, temporary goods; their worshippers reach those bounded realms and, when the merit is spent, return (9.21). To reach the Unbounded one must aim at the Unbounded. He is “distinct” from the devas as the ocean is distinct from its bays: not another thing, but the whole of which they are parts.