Mūla — the verse
Gita Press numberingTranslation
Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣyaEven those who, being devoted to other deities and endowed with faith, worship them, they also, O son of Kunti, worship Me alone, though following the wrong method.
हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda
हे कौन्तेय ! श्रद्धा से युक्त जो भक्त अन्य देवताओं को पूजते हैं, वे भी मुझे ही अविधिपूर्वक पूजते हैं।।
Pronunciation — Vaamshii
from VaamshiiWord by word
padārthaThemes
from The Thematic Companion to the Bhagavad GītāMeaning — Questions & Solutions
from Q&A with KnA“Even those who, devoted to other gods, worship them with faith — they too worship Me alone, Arjuna, though not in the prescribed way (avidhi-pūrvakam).” This resolves the apparent clash between his oneness and the many deities. There are not really “other” gods receiving worship elsewhere; there is one Reality receiving every sincere worship under every name. The worship of the other gods is “not by the right method” only in that it stops short at the form and misses the whole (9.24), so that its reward is finite. The faith is honoured; only its aim is too small. This is the mature form of 7.21.