Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 7, Verse 22
स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस्तस्याराधनमीहते।
लभते च ततः कामान्मयैव विहितान् हि तान्।।
लभते च ततः कामान्मयैव विहितान् हि तान्।।
sa tayā śraddhayā yuktas tasyārādhanam īhate
labhate ca tataḥ kāmān mayaiva vihitān hi tān
also searched as "sa taya shraddhaya yuktas tasyaradhanam ihate"
Translation
Endowed with that faith, he worships that form and thereby gets the objects of his desire, granted in reality by Me alone.
Vāṇi's rendering
With that faith he worships, and his prayers are answered. But it is I who grant every answer.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सःsa | he — that worshipper |
| तयाtayā | with that |
| श्रद्धयाśraddhayā | faith |
| युक्तःyuktaḥ | joined to, endowed with (appears as yuktas before the next word) |
| तस्यtasya | of that form or deity (joined in speech with the next word) |
| आराधनम्ārādhanam | worship, adoration |
| ईहतेīhate | seeks, sets about, strives at |
| लभतेlabhate | obtains, receives |
| चca | and |
| ततःtataḥ | from that, thereby |
| कामान्kāmān | the things desired |
| मयाmayā | by me (joined with the next word in speech) |
| एवeva | alone, none other |
| विहितान्vihitān | arranged, dispensed, granted |
| हिhi | indeed |
| तान्tān | those very things |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 22 mean?
It means the prayer is answered — and Krishna is the one answering, whatever name was called. The worshipper approaches some smaller form with real śraddhā, receives what he asked for, and never learns where it came from. The gift is genuine. Only the address on the envelope was mistaken.
Sa taya shraddhaya yuktas tasyaradhanam ihate - what is the meaning of this line?
Endowed with that faith, he sets about worshipping that form. The verse's weight falls on tayā — that faith, the very faith Krishna said in the previous line he himself makes firm. So even the sincerity brought to a lesser altar was given. Nothing in the exchange begins outside him.
Does this verse say worshipping other gods is wrong?
No. Krishna does not deny the fruit or mock the worshipper. He says the fruit is his to dispense — mayaiva vihitān. What he questions is not the devotion but its aim: small requests answered leave you where you were. He would rather you asked for him.
If Krishna grants every prayer, why pray to him directly?
Because what you ask for shapes what you become. Ask through a lesser form and you receive the object, then the wanting returns. Ask him for himself and the asking ends. The same giver stands behind both prayers; only one of them stops needing to be repeated.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Krishna has just said he steadies that faith himself. Now he follows the prayer to its end. The man who worships some lesser form does get what he asked for — the Gītā does not call his answered prayer a coincidence or a delusion. It works. But the granting was never in the hands of the form he named. Every fulfilment along every road came from one giver. Arjuna is being shown that there is no worship that lands elsewhere. So when your smallest prayer is answered, look again at who answered. You were never praying past Krishna. You were praying to him under a different name.