Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 9, Verse 13
महात्मानस्तु मां पार्थ दैवीं प्रकृतिमाश्रिताः।
भजन्त्यनन्यमनसो ज्ञात्वा भूतादिमव्ययम्।।
भजन्त्यनन्यमनसो ज्ञात्वा भूतादिमव्ययम्।।
mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
bhajantyananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam
also searched as "mahatmanas tu mam partha daivim prakritim ashritah"
Translation
But the great-souled ones, O Arjuna, who are associated with My divine nature, worship Me with an unwavering mind, knowing Me to be the immutable source of all beings.
Vāṇi's rendering
But the great-hearted, sheltered in a godly nature, love me with undivided mind — the deathless source of all.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| महात्मानःmahātmānaḥ | the great-souled, the great-hearted ones (sandhi: mahātmānas tu) |
| तुtu | but, in contrast |
| माम्mām | me |
| पार्थpārtha | O Arjuna, son of Pṛthā |
| दैवीम्daivīm | godly, divine |
| प्रकृतिम्prakṛtim | nature, way of being |
| आश्रिताःāśritāḥ | having taken shelter in, resting upon |
| भजन्तिbhajanti | they love, they serve, they worship (sandhi: bhajanty + ananya) |
| अनन्य-मनसःananya-manasaḥ | with no other thing in mind; undivided in mind |
| ज्ञात्वाjñātvā | having known |
| भूत-आदिम्bhūta-ādim | the source of all beings (sandhi: bhūtādim) |
| अव्ययम्avyayam | undecaying, deathless |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 Verse 13 mean?
It marks a turn. After describing those whose hopes and works run empty, Krishna speaks of the great-hearted — those sheltered in a daivī prakṛti, a godly nature. Their worship is ananya-manasaḥ, undivided, because they have understood what they are turning toward: the deathless source of every being that has ever lived.
What does the line mahatmanas tu mam partha daivim prakritim ashritah teach?
That greatness of heart is a matter of what you lean on. Āśritāḥ means sheltered, resting in. These people are not called great because they conquered anything; they are great because they stopped taking refuge in grasping and took refuge in a godly nature instead. Everything else in the verse follows from that shift.
What does it mean to worship with an undivided mind?
Ananya-manasaḥ means no other thing occupying the mind while you turn — nothing kept aside as a second option. Not strain, not concentration exercises. Simply that the love is not hedged. Most of our devotion keeps a portion in reserve in case this does not work. Krishna is describing what happens when that reserve is spent.
Who are the mahatmas Krishna speaks of here?
Not a separate class of saints. Krishna defines them entirely by two things: where they shelter, and what they know. Sheltered in a divine nature, knowing him as bhūtādi avyayam — the undecaying origin of all beings. Any life arranged around those two facts is the life this verse is naming.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
The verse before this described the scattered — vain hopes, vain deeds, borrowed opinions. Here Krishna turns to the other kind. What makes them great-hearted is not achievement; it is shelter. They have taken refuge in a godly nature instead of a grasping one, and from that shelter the mind stops splitting. Ananya-manasaḥ: no other mind, nothing held back in reserve. And they know what they love — not one figure among many, but the deathless source everything came out of. Arjuna hears this while still bargaining with outcomes. Notice how much of you is actually present the next time you sit to pray.