Verse 12.1
Speaker: Arjuna
Sanskrit
अर्जुन उवाच | एवं सततयुक्ता ये भक्तास्त्वां पर्युपासते | ये चाप्यक्षरमव्यक्तं तेषां के योगवित्तमाः ||१||
Transliteration (IAST)
arjuna uvāca | evaṁ satata-yuktā ye bhaktās tvāṁ paryupāsate | ye cāpy akṣaram avyaktaṁ teṣāṁ ke yoga-vittamāḥ ||1||
Word-by-Word Meanings
Translation
Arjuna said: Those devotees who, ever steadfast, worship You in this manner, and those who worship the imperishable unmanifest - which of them are better versed in yoga?
Commentary
Arjuna's question arises from the tension between the personal and impersonal approaches to the Divine presented in earlier chapters. Shankaracharya notes this question distinguishes saguṇa-bhakti (devotion to the personal God) from nirguṇa-upāsanā (meditation on the formless Absolute). The question sets the stage for Krishna's definitive teaching on the superiority of personal devotion.