Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12, Verse 20 (BG 12.20) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

12.20 ये who? तु indeed? धर्म्यामृतम् immortal Dharma (Law)? इदम् this? यथोक्तम् as declared (above)? पर्युपासते follow? श्रद्दधानाः endowed with faith? मत्परमाः regarding Me as their Supreme? भक्ताः devotees? ते they? अतीव exceedingly? मे to Me? प्रियाः dear.Commentary The Blessed Lord has in this verse given a description of His excellent devotee.Amrita Dharma Amrita is the lifegiving nectar. Dharma is righteousness or wisdom. Dharma is that which leads to immortality when practised. The real devotees regard Me as their final or supreme refuge.Above Beginning with verse 13.A great truth that should not go unnoticed is that the devotee? the man of wisdom and the Yogi have all the same fundamental characteristics.Priyo hi Jnaninotyartham (I am exceedingly dear to the wise man) (VII.12) has thus been explained at length and concluded here thus? Te ativa me priyah (they are exceedinlgy dear to Me).He who follows this immortal Dharma as described above becomes exceedingly dear to the Lord. Therefore? every aspirant who thirsts for salvation? and who longs to attain the Supreme Abode of the Lord should follow this immortal Dharma with zeal and intense faith.Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita? the science of the Eternal? the scripture of Yoga? the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna? ends the twelfth discourse entitledThe Yoga of Devotion.

Commentaries

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# BG 12.20 — The Immortal Dharma of Devotion As described in the verses above, the essence of eternal dharma has been revealed. In truth, the goal of those who follow the Hindu path is to realize the atman and to live that realization across all dimensions of existence — the physical, the mental, and the intellectual. For this, it is not sufficient merely to understand this knowledge at the intellectual level, or to recite the sacred scriptures regularly, or even to explain them well to others. One must assimilate the wisdom of the scriptures and become a complete human being through direct experience. Therefore, the Lord declares that one must possess shraddha — and here, shraddha means the capacity to internalize the knowledge of atman as taught by the scriptures through one's own direct experience. Such devotees are exceedingly dear to Me. With this verse, the description of the marks of the devotee concludes, and with it, the sixth section of this chapter and the chapter itself comes to an end. Although no new characteristic is introduced here, it contains the Lord's reassurance to all seekers: those endowed with the qualities described shall attain the supreme devotion of the Lord. --- **Conclusion** *Tat Sat* — Thus concludes the Twelfth Chapter, named the Yoga of Devotion, in the Bhagavad Gita Upanishad, the scripture of yoga, in the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna concerning the knowledge of Brahman. Thus ends the Twelfth Chapter, the Yoga of Devotion, of the Sri Bhagavad Gita Upanishad, the scripture of yoga, in the form of the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna.