9.23
येऽप्यन्यदेवता भक्ता
यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विताः ।
तेऽपि मामेव कौन्तेय
यजन्त्यविधिपूर्वकम् ॥
ye 'py anyadevatā bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
te 'pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhipūrvakam
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is still speaking to Arjuna (अर्जुन).
The verse
Even the devotees of other gods who sacrifice, endowed with faith, sacrifice also to me alone, son of Kuntī (कुन्ती), though not by the prescribed way.
नेपालीमा
अन्य देवताका भक्तहरू, श्रद्धाले युक्त भएर यज्ञ गर्नेहरू, हे कुन्तीपुत्र, तोकिएको बाटोबाट नभए पनि मलाई नै यज्ञ गर्छन्।
Where it sits
9.22 was the worship with no other thought. This verse takes up the worship that does have another god in front of it, and still says the sacrifice comes to him. 9.24 will say why, and what they miss.
Split: ये + अपि + अन्य-देवता-भक्ताः + यजन्ते + श्रद्धया + अन्विताः + ते + अपि + माम् + एव + कौन्तेय + यजन्ति + अविधि-पूर्वकम्
ye + api + anya-devatā-bhaktāḥ + yajante + śraddhayā + anvitāḥ + te + api + mām + eva + kaunteya + yajanti + avidhi-pūrvakam
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| ये | ye | nominative plural | who. |
| अपि | api | indeclinable | even. |
| अन्य-देवता-भक्ताः | anya-devatā-bhaktāḥ | nominative plural | those whose devotion is to other gods. devatā (देवता) is a deity. |
| यजन्ते | yajante | present, 3rd plural, middle | they sacrifice. |
| श्रद्धया | śraddhayā | instrumental | with faith. śraddhā (श्रद्धा). |
| अन्विताः | anvitāḥ | nominative plural | endowed with, accompanied by. anu-i (अनु-इ). |
| ते | te | nominative plural | they. |
| अपि | api | indeclinable | also. |
| माम् | mām | accusative | me. |
| एव | eva | indeclinable | alone, just. |
| कौन्तेय | kaunteya | vocative | son of Kuntī (कुन्ती). |
| यजन्ति | yajanti | present, 3rd plural | they sacrifice. |
| अविधि-पूर्वकम् | avidhi-pūrvakam | accusative, used as an adverb | not by the prescribed way. vidhi (विधि) is the rule. pūrvaka (पूर्वक) is "preceded by." a- (अ-) reverses it. |
The phrases
ye api anya-devatā-bhaktāḥ yajante (ये अपि अन्य-देवता-भक्ताः यजन्ते) are devotees of other gods, and they do sacrifice. śraddhayā anvitāḥ (श्रद्धया अन्विताः) says the faith is real. The line does not call them faithless.
ते अपि माम् एव यजन्ति te api mām eva yajanti is where the offering lands. They also sacrifice to him, and eva (एव) says it is him. avidhi-pūrvakam (अविधि-पूर्वकम्) is the manner: not by the way the rule lays down.
The gap in anyadevatā bhaktā (अन्यदेवता भक्ता) does not end the word. devatā (देवता) has no case ending of its own. It is the middle of anya-devatā-bhaktāḥ (अन्य-देवता-भक्ताः).
Sanskrit in this line
ये + अपि ye + api is recited ye 'pi (येऽपि). ते + अपि te + api is te 'pi (तेऽपि). e (ए) meets a (अ): the e (ए) stays, and the a (अ) is the avagraha, as in mokṣyase 'śubhāt (मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात्) in 9.1. yajante (यजन्ते) is middle, yajanti (यजन्ति) is active. Same root, two endings, both "they sacrifice."
Say it back
Cover the English. Say where the sacrifice arrives, and whether it follows the rule. If avidhi-pūrvakam (अविधि-पूर्वकम्) comes out as "rightly," stay here.