Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 12, Verse 20
ये तु धर्म्यामृतमिदं यथोक्तं पर्युपासते।श्रद्दधाना मत्परमा भक्तास्तेऽतीव मे प्रियाः।।
ye tu dharmyāmṛtam idaṁ yathoktaṁ paryupāsate
śraddadhānā mat-paramā bhaktās te ’tīva me priyāḥ
also searched as "ye tu dharmyamritam idam yathoktam paryupasate"
Translation
But those devotees who follow this nectar of virtuous duty, as taught above, who are full of faith and regard Me as the Supreme, are exceedingly dear to Me.
Vāṇi's rendering
And those who live this deathless dharma as I have spoken it, trusting, making me their highest — exceedingly dear.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| येye | those who |
| तुtu | but, and indeed |
| धर्म्यामृतम्dharmya-amṛtam | this deathless dharma — righteous living that does not die (sandhi of dharmyam + amṛtam) |
| इदम्idam | this, here |
| यथोक्तम्yathā-uktam | as it has been spoken (sandhi of yathā + uktam) |
| पर्युपासतेparyupāsate | sit close to it, attend upon it, live around it |
| श्रद्दधानाःśraddadhānā | trusting, holding faith |
| मत्परमाःmat-paramā | making me the highest |
| भक्ताःbhaktāḥ | the devoted ones (sandhi: bhaktās te) |
| तेte | they |
| अतीवatīva | exceedingly, beyond measure (elided to 'tīva) |
| मेme | to me |
| प्रियाःpriyāḥ | dear |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Verse 20 mean?
It closes the chapter by naming everything just described — the steady, unhating, unpossessive life — as dharmyāmṛta, deathless dharma. Those who live it as Krishna has spoken it, trusting, making him their highest, he calls exceedingly dear. The teaching ends in affection rather than instruction.
What does the line ye tu dharmyamritam idam yathoktam paryupasate teach?
Paryupāsate does not mean to obey a rule. It means to sit near, to attend, to keep company with. The verses before this one are not a checklist to complete but a nearness to keep. Live around them, trusting, and the qualities come to you rather than being achieved by you.
Why does Krishna call this dharma deathless?
Amṛta is what does not die. Rules made by circumstance expire when circumstances change. This way of standing — free of grudge, free of grasping, unmoved by praise — outlasts every situation it is practised in. What you build of it is not lost when the situation that taught it is gone.
What makes someone exceedingly dear to Krishna?
Not perfection in the list, but trust and direction. Śraddadhānā — you keep faith while still learning. Mat-paramā — of everything you could set at the centre, you set him. Krishna says atīva, exceedingly, and says nothing about how far along you are. The leaning itself is what he loves.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna has just finished a long list — no hatred, no possession, equal in praise and blame — and now he names it: deathless dharma, amṛta, the nectar. Not a code of conduct. Something you drink. And the word he uses for those who live it is not obey but paryupāsate — they sit close, they attend, they wait near it the way you wait near someone you love. Faith, and Krishna as the highest, and that nearness. The chapter ends not with a demand but with an admission of affection. He wants you close. Whatever you have managed of that list, begin by sitting nearer.