Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 9, Verse 15
ज्ञानयज्ञेन चाप्यन्ये यजन्तो मामुपासते।
एकत्वेन पृथक्त्वेन बहुधा विश्वतोमुखम्।।
एकत्वेन पृथक्त्वेन बहुधा विश्वतोमुखम्।।
jñāna-yajñena cāpyanye yajanto mām upāsate
ekatvena pṛthaktvena bahudhā viśvato-mukham
also searched as "jnana yajnena chapyanye yajanto mam upasate"
Translation
Others, besides offering the sacrifice of knowledge, also worship Me as One, who is characterized by diversity in countless ways and is multiform (in My Cosmic aspect).
Vāṇi's rendering
Others worship me with the offering of knowledge — as the one, as the many, as the face turned everywhere.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ज्ञानयज्ञेनjñāna-yajñena | with the offering of knowledge — knowing itself made into a rite |
| चca | and |
| अपिapi | also (ca + api join as cāpi) |
| अन्येanye | others (joined in sandhi as cāpyanye) |
| यजन्तःyajanto | offering, performing the sacrifice (yajantaḥ before mām) |
| माम्mām | me |
| उपासतेupāsate | they worship, they sit close in reverence |
| एकत्वेनekatvena | as the one, undivided |
| पृथक्त्वेनpṛthaktvena | as the separate, the other standing apart |
| बहुधाbahudhā | in many ways, under many forms |
| विश्वतोमुखम्viśvato-mukham | the one whose face is turned in every direction |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 Verse 15 mean?
It means that understanding can be an offering. Some approach Krishna as pure oneness, some as a beloved other, some through many named forms. He calls all of it worship. The verse does not rank the three; it lists them, because the one being approached is viśvato-mukham — facing every way at once.
What is the jnana yajna, the sacrifice of knowledge?
A sacrifice is something given into the fire. Here what is given is your knowing — every conclusion about who Krishna is, offered rather than hoarded. It is not study for its own sake. It is understanding turned toward him, so that thinking becomes a form of reverence instead of a substitute for it.
What does jnana yajnena chapyanye yajanto mam upasate teach about different paths?
That the difference between paths is a difference in the worshipper, not in the worshipped. Oneness, separateness, multiplicity — Krishna names all three and objects to none. Your temperament decides which door you walk through. The room is the same room. Argue less about the doors and go in through yours.
Why is Krishna called the one whose face is everywhere?
Because there is no angle from which you meet his back. Whatever you turn toward — a form, a formlessness, an idea — meets a face already turned toward you. That is why three contradictory ways of worship can all be accurate. You are never approaching him from behind.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Knowledge is listed here as an offering — not an alternative to worship but a way of doing it. And Krishna does not insist the knowers agree. Some see only oneness. Some hold him separate and adore across the distance. Some meet him in a thousand forms, each with its own name. He receives all three without correcting any. The face turned everywhere has no back for you to stand behind. Whatever direction your understanding faces, it is facing him. So stop auditing whether your way of seeing is the correct one, and offer what you actually understand.