Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 9, Verse 14
सततं कीर्तयन्तो मां यतन्तश्च दृढव्रताः।
नमस्यन्तश्च मां भक्त्या नित्ययुक्ता उपासते।।
नमस्यन्तश्च मां भक्त्या नित्ययुक्ता उपासते।।
satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ
namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā nitya-yuktā upāsate
also searched as "satatam kirtayanto mam yatantash cha dridha-vratah"
Translation
Aspiring for eternal communion with Me, they worship Me, always singing My praises, striving with steadfast resolution and bowing down to Me in devotion.
Vāṇi's rendering
Always singing of me, striving, firm in their vows, bowing in love — they stay joined to me, worshipping.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सततम्satataṁ | always, without a break |
| कीर्तयन्तःkīrtayantaḥ | singing of, telling out loud |
| माम्māṁ | me |
| यतन्तःyatantaḥ | striving, making the effort (sandhi: yatantaś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| दृढव्रताःdṛḍha-vratāḥ | firm in their vows, holding what they promised |
| नमस्यन्तःnamasyantaḥ | bowing, offering salutation (sandhi: namasyantaś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| माम्māṁ | me |
| भक्त्याbhaktyā | with love, in devotion |
| नित्ययुक्ताःnitya-yuktāḥ | ever joined, staying yoked (sandhi: nitya-yuktā before upāsate) |
| उपासतेupāsate | they worship, they sit near and serve |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 Verse 14 mean?
It describes how the great-souled live: praising Krishna continuously, striving, holding firm to their vows, bowing in love, staying joined to him. Worship here is not an event but a texture — the ordinary day taken up and offered. Krishna is naming a habit, not a ceremony.
What is the meaning of satatam kirtayanto mam yatantash cha dridha-vratah?
Satataṁ is the weight-bearing word: always. Not on festival days, not when the mood arrives. Kīrtayantaḥ is speaking him aloud, yatantaḥ is the effort that costs something, dṛḍha-vratāḥ is keeping a promise past the point where it felt good. Love with a spine.
Why does this verse mention striving if bhakti is about love?
Because love that never has to try is untested. Krishna places yatantaḥ — striving — right in the middle of singing and bowing. Devotion asks something of the body and the calendar. The vow holds not because feeling stays strong, but because you return when it doesn't.
How can an ordinary person live this verse?
By making the return small enough to actually make. One remembrance in the morning, one bow at night, one promise you keep when nobody is watching. Nitya-yuktāḥ — ever joined — is built out of such repetitions. You are not asked for intensity. You are asked for continuity.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Three verbs and one adverb. Singing, striving, bowing — and always. Krishna has just described the great-souled ones, and here he tells you what they actually do with their days: not one grand act of surrender but a thousand small returns. The vow is firm because it is repeated. Notice that striving sits between singing and bowing; love here is not soft. It has discipline in its middle and a bent head at either end. Arjuna wanted to know who reaches Krishna. The answer is whoever keeps coming back. You do not need a better hour than this one to begin.