7.23
Chapter 7, Verse 23
अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम्। देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि৷৷
antavattu phalaṅ tēṣāṅ tadbhavatyalpamēdhasām. dēvāndēvayajō yānti madbhaktā yānti māmapi৷৷
Translation
The fruit that comes to men of limited insight is, after all, finite. They who worship the Lower Powers attain them; but those who worship Me come unto Me alone.
Translation — Purohit Swami
Commentary
अन्तवत् finite, तु verily, फलम् the fruit, तेषाम् of them, तत् that, भवति is, अल्पमेधसाम् those of small intelligence, देवान् to the gods, देवयजः the worshippers of the gods, यान्ति go to, मद्भक्ताः My devotees, यान्ति go to, माम् Me, अपि also. Commentary: The exertion in the two kinds is the same and yet people do not attempt to worship the Supreme Being in order to attain the maximum benefits or the infinite reward (liberation or Moksha). The reward obtained by men of small understandng and petty intellect who worship the minor deities is small, perishable and temporary.Yajnas (Vedic rituals), Homas (rituals in which oblations are offered into the sacred fire) and Tapas (penance) of various sorts can bestow only temporary rewards on the performer. Liberation from the wheel of transmigration alone will give everlasting bliss and eternal peace.Those who worship Indra and others are Sattvic devotees those who worship Yakshas and Rakshasas (demoniacal beings) are Rajasic devotees and those who worship the Bhutas and Pretas (discarnate spirits) are Tamasic devotees.The knowledge of those who worship the small deities is partial and incomplete. It cannot lead to liberation. (Cf.IX.25)
Commentary — Swami Sivananda
Sanskrit and transliteration of the Bhagavad Gita. Corpus compiled from the vedabase and the IIT Kanpur Gita Supersite.