Bhagavad Gita 9.25: meaning and translation
Chapter 9: Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna says that those devoted to the gods go to the gods, those devoted to the ancestors (pitṛs) go to the ancestors, and those who worship the spirits of the elements (bhūtas) go to them.
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Bhagavad Gita 9.25
यान्ति देवव्रता देवान्पितॄन्यान्ति पितृव्रताः ।भूतानि यान्ति भूतेज्या यान्ति मद्याजिनोऽपि माम् ॥
Yanti devavrata devanpitrinyanti pitrivratahBhutani yanti bhutejya yanti madyajinopi mam
yānti devavratā devānpitṝnyānti pitṛvratāḥ |bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti madyājino’pi mām ||
Our explanation Krishna says that those devoted to the gods go to the gods, those devoted to the ancestors (pitṛs) go to the ancestors, and those who worship the spirits of the elements (bhūtas) go to them. Those who worship him, he says, come to him.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि देवताओं के व्रत रखने वाले देवताओं को पाते हैं, पितरों के व्रत रखने वाले पितरों को, और भूतों (प्रकृति की आत्माओं) को पूजने वाले भूतों को। वे कहते हैं कि जो उनकी उपासना करते हैं, वे उन्हीं को पाते हैं।
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Word by word
- यान्ति yānti · go (present, 3rd person plural) Dictionary: yā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 849, col. 1 “to go, proceed, move, walk, set out”
- देवव्रताः devavratāḥ · devoted to the gods (compound (masculine), nominative plural) Dictionary: deva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 492, col. 2 “a deity, god”; vrata, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1042, col. 2 “a religious vow or practice, any pious observance”
- देवान् devān · to the gods (noun (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: deva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 492, col. 2 “a deity, god”
- पितॄन् pitṝn · to the ancestors (noun (masculine), accusative plural) Dictionary: pitṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 626, col. 2 “the fathers, forefathers, ancestors, (esp.) the Pitṛis or deceased ancestors”
- यान्ति yānti · go (present, 3rd person plural) Dictionary: yā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 849, col. 1 “to go, proceed, move, walk, set out”
- पितृव्रताः pitṛvratāḥ · devoted to the ancestors (compound (masculine), nominative plural) Dictionary: pitṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 626, col. 2 “the fathers, forefathers, ancestors, (esp.) the Pitṛis or deceased ancestors”; vrata, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1042, col. 2 “a religious vow or practice, any pious observance”
- भूतानि bhūtāni · to the bhūtas (spirits) (noun (neuter), accusative plural) Dictionary: bhūta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 761, col. 3 “that which is or exists, any living being”
- यान्ति yānti · go (present, 3rd person plural) Dictionary: yā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 849, col. 1 “to go, proceed, move, walk, set out”
- भूतेज्याः bhūtejyāḥ · worshippers of the bhūtas (compound (masculine), nominative plural) Dictionary: bhūta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 761, col. 3 “that which is or exists, any living being”; ijya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 164, col. 2 “a sacrifice, making offerings to the gods or manes”
- यान्ति yānti · go (present, 3rd person plural) Dictionary: yā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 849, col. 1 “to go, proceed, move, walk, set out”
- मद्याजिनः madyājinaḥ · worshippers of "me" (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.)”; yājin, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 850, col. 3 “worshipping, sacrificing, a sacrificer”
- अपि api · also (indeclinable) Dictionary: api, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 55, col. 1 “in the sense of even, also, very”
- 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.)”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 84–85.
Those who make vows1 to the gods go to the gods; those who make vows to the manes go to the manes; those who worship the Bhûtas go to the Bhûtas; and those likewise who worship me go to me.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - I. e. some regulation as to mode of worship. Cf. also p. 76 supra. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 84–85.
Those who make vows1 to the gods go to the gods; those who make vows to the manes go to the manes; those who worship the Bhûtas go to the Bhûtas; and those likewise who worship me go to me.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - I. e. some regulation as to mode of worship. Cf. also p. 76 supra. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 92.
They who worship the Gods go to the Gods; to the Pitris go the Pitri-worshippers; to the Bhûtas go those who sacrifice to Bhûtas;1 but My worshippers come unto Me.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Elementals or Nature-spirits. ↩
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 188.
Votaries of the Devas, go to the Devas; to the Pitris, go their votaries; to the Bhutas, go the Bhuta worshippers; My votaries too come unto 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), pp. 84–85. Bhagavad Gita 9.25.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 92. Bhagavad Gita 9.25.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 188. Bhagavad Gita 9.25.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 9.25: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 27, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/9/25/
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Bhagavad Gita 9.25
यान्ति देवव्रता देवान्पितॄन्यान्ति पितृव्रताः ।
भूतानि यान्ति भूतेज्या यान्ति मद्याजिनोऽपि माम् ॥
“Those who make vows to the gods go to the gods; those who make vows to the manes go to the manes; those who worship the Bhûtas go to the Bhûtas; and those likewise who worship me go to me.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), pp. 84–85, public domain)
“They who worship the Gods go to the Gods; to the Pitris go the Pitri-worshippers; to the Bhûtas go those who sacrifice to Bhûtas; but My worshippers come unto Me.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 92, public domain)
“Votaries of the Devas, go to the Devas; to the Pitris, go their votaries; to the Bhutas, go the Bhuta worshippers; My votaries too come unto Me.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 188, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/9/25/ 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 9.25?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 9 (Raja Vidya Raja Guhya 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