Bhagavad Gita 7.23: meaning and translation
Chapter 7: Jnana Vijnana Yoga. Krishna says
But the fruit gained by those of small understanding has an end, Krishna says.
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Bhagavad Gita 7.23
अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम् ।देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि ॥
Antavattu phalam tesham tadbhavatyalpamedhasamDevandevayajo yanti madbhakta yanti mamapi
antavattu phalaṃ teṣāṃ tadbhavatyalpamedhasām |devāndevayajo yānti madbhaktā yānti māmapi ||
Our explanation But the fruit gained by those of small understanding has an end, Krishna says. Those who worship the gods go to the gods; his devotees come to him.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि कम समझ वालों को मिलने वाला वह फल नश्वर (अंत वाला) है। देवताओं को पूजने वाले देवताओं को प्राप्त होते हैं; उनके भक्त उन्हें प्राप्त होते हैं।
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- अन्तवत् antavat · having an end (adjective (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: anta-vat, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 43, col. 1 “having an end or term, limited, perishable”
- तु tu · but (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. tu, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 449, col. 3 “but”
- फलम् phalam · fruit, result (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: phala, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 716, col. 2 “fruit (met.), consequence, effect, result, retribution (good or bad)”
- तेषाम् teṣām · of them (pronoun (masculine), genitive plural) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
- तत् tat · that (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
- भवति bhavati · is (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. bhū, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 760, col. 2 “to become, be”
- अल्पमेधसाम् alpamedhasām · of small understanding (compound (masculine), genitive plural) Dictionary: alpa-medhas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 95, col. 3 “of little understanding, ignorant, silly”
- देवान् devān · to the gods (noun (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: deva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 492, col. 2 “a deity, god”
- देवयजः devayajaḥ · worshippers of the gods (compound (masculine), nominative plural) Dictionary: deva-yaj, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 494, col. 1 “sacrificing to the gods”
- यान्ति yānti · go (present, 3rd person plural) Dictionary: 1. yā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 849, col. 1 “to go, proceed, move, walk, set out”
- मद्भक्ताः madbhaktāḥ · "my" devotees (Krishna's) (compound (masculine), nominative plural) Dictionary: 1. mad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 777, col. 2 “base of the first pers. pron. in the sg. number (esp. in comp.)”; bhakta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 743, col. 1 “a worshipper, votary”
- यान्ति yānti · go (present, 3rd person plural) Dictionary: 1. yā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 849, col. 1 “to go, proceed, move, walk, set out”
- माम् mām · to "me" (Krishna) (pronoun, accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. mad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 777, col. 2 “base of the first pers. pron. in the sg. number (esp. in comp.)”
- अपि api · also (indeclinable) Dictionary: api, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 55, col. 1 “in the sense of even, also, very”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 76.
But the fruit thus (obtained) by them, who have little judgment, is perishable. Those who worship the divinities go to the divinities1, and my worshippers, too, go to me.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - And the divinities are not eternal, so the fruit obtained is ephemeral. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 76.
But the fruit thus (obtained) by them, who have little judgment, is perishable. Those who worship the divinities go to the divinities1, and my worshippers, too, go to me.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - And the divinities are not eternal, so the fruit obtained is ephemeral. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 79.
Finite indeed their fruit; this belongeth to those who are of small intelligence. To the Gods go the worshippers of the Gods, but My devotees come unto Me.
This sentence begins in 7.22.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 155.
But the fruit, (accruing) to these men of little understanding is limited. The worshippers of Devas go to the Devas; My devotees too come to Me.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 76. Bhagavad Gita 7.23.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 79. Bhagavad Gita 7.23.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 155. Bhagavad Gita 7.23.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 7.23: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 27, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/7/23/
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Bhagavad Gita 7.23
अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम् ।
देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि ॥
“But the fruit thus (obtained) by them, who have little judgment, is perishable. Those who worship the divinities go to the divinities, and my worshippers, too, go to me.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 76, public domain)
“Finite indeed their fruit; this belongeth to those who are of small intelligence. To the Gods go the worshippers of the Gods, but My devotees come unto Me.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 79, public domain)
This sentence begins in 7.22.
“But the fruit, (accruing) to these men of little understanding is limited. The worshippers of Devas go to the Devas; My devotees too come to Me.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 155, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/7/23/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 7.23?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 7 (Jnana Vijnana Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 27, 2026