Bhagavad Gita 9.13
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 13 of 34
महात्मानस्तु मां पार्थ दैवीं प्रकृतिमाश्रिताः | भजन्त्यनन्यमनसो ज्ञात्वा भूतादिमव्ययम् ||१३||
mahātmānas tu māṃ pārtha daivīṃ prakṛtim āśritāḥ | bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam || 13 ||
The mahātmās of divine nature worship Me with undivided mind, knowing Me as the immutable origin of all beings.
Word by word (3)
- mahātmānaḥ tu māṃ pārtha daivīṃ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
- — But the mahātmās, O son of Pṛthā, having taken shelter in the divine nature, worship Me · mahātmānaḥ = the great-souled (mahā = great; ātman = soul; mahātman = great soul, the Gita's term for the spiritually elevated; plural nominative — 'the great-souled ones'). tu = but (strong contrastive particle — 'but, in contrast'; the tu marks the pivot from V11-V12's mūḍha portrait to the opposite type). māṃ = Me (accusative). pārtha = O son of Pṛthā (pṛthā = Kuntī; Pṛthā-putra = son of Pṛthā = Arjuna; pārtha = vocative). daivīṃ prakṛtim āśritāḥ = having taken shelter in the divine nature (daivī = divine, relating to the devas; prakṛti = nature, creative matrix; daivī prakṛti = the divine nature — the positive prakṛti counterpart to V12's rākṣasī-āsurī mohinī prakṛti; āśritāḥ = having taken shelter in, plural nominative). V13's first half introduces the mahātmā as the precise opposite of V11-V12's mūḍha: the same possessive verb āśrita (having taken shelter in) from V12's rākṣasī prakṛti is now applied to daivī prakṛti. The structural contrast: mūḍha = śritāḥ rākṣasīm āsurīṃ mohinīṃ prakṛtim (V12); mahātmā = daivīṃ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (V13). Same human beings, different prakṛti orientation — and thus completely different orientation toward the divine.
- bhajanti ananya-manasaḥ jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam
- — They worship with undivided mind, knowing Me as the imperishable origin of all beings · bhajanti = they worship, they serve (√bhaj = to worship, to serve devotedly, to share; bhajanti = third person plural present — 'they worship'; the root of bhakti = devotion). ananya-manasaḥ = with undivided mind (ananya = not-other, not-divided, undivided; manas = mind; ananya-manas = one whose mind is not directed at another — 'undivided, single-pointed'). jñātvā = having known (gerund of √jñā = to know — 'having known, knowing'). bhūtādim = as the origin of beings (bhūta = beings; ādi = origin, beginning, source — bhūtādi = the origin/source of beings). avyayam = imperishable (a = not; vyaya = expenditure, decay; avyaya = imperishable, not subject to decay — same avyaya as V9.2's description of Ch.9's teaching). V13's second half: the mahātmās worship (bhajanti) with undivided mind (ananya-manasaḥ), knowing (jñātvā) the Supreme as the imperishable origin of all beings (bhūtādim avyayam). The two qualities of the mahātmā's devotion: (1) ananya-manas (undivided mind — no other object of attention) and (2) jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam (knowing the Supreme as the source and imperishable ground of all beings — the recognition of V9.4-V9.10's cosmological teaching as the basis for worship). For the mahātmā, devotion (bhajanti) is grounded in recognition (jñātvā): they do not worship blindly but worship with the understanding that the Supreme is the imperishable origin of all. This jñāna-grounded bhakti is the integration of knowledge and devotion that the Gita consistently points toward.
- mahātmā — great-souled (as the Gita's term for the fully realized devotee-knower)
- — V13's mahātmā (great-souled) is the Gita's highest human designation — combining daivī prakṛti, ananya-manas (undivided mind), and jñāna of the divine origin · Mahātmā appears several times in the Gita at its highest human-type descriptions: V7.19 (bahūnāṃ janmanām ante jñānavān māṃ prapadyate — at the end of many births, the jñānavān surrenders to Me; sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ = that mahātmā is very rare); V8.15 (mahātmānaḥ saṃsiddhiṃ paramāṃ gatāḥ — great-souled ones reaching highest perfection); V9.13 (mahātmānas tu... daivīṃ prakṛtim āśritāḥ = great-souled ones taking shelter in divine nature). The Gita's mahātmā is not a title of rank or honor but a description of one who has expanded their ātman (soul-identification) to the mahat (great) — beyond the narrow individual self to the cosmic Self. The mahātmā's three characteristics in V13: (1) daivīṃ prakṛtim āśritāḥ — residing in the divine nature (not the asuric); (2) ananya-manasaḥ — mind undivided toward the Supreme; (3) jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam — knowing the Supreme as the imperishable origin. Together these describe a being in whom the Gita's jñāna (knowing the divine ground) and bhakti (undivided devotion) are fully integrated. V13's mahātmā is the living demonstration that the guhyatama teaching (V9.1) has been received and lived.
But the great souls, O son of Pṛthā, who take to the divine nature, worship Me with undivided minds, knowing Me as the imperishable origin of all beings.
A modern analogy
The mahātmā is not the spiritual expert who has accumulated credentials — it is the person whose aspiration (āśā), action (karma), and knowledge (jñāna) are all oriented toward the infinite ground of existence. In modern terms: a scientist who pursues knowledge toward the mystery at its edges rather than away from it; an entrepreneur who serves a genuine human need without accumulating for its own sake; a caregiver whose giving comes from recognition of the divine in each person. The mahātmā is the person in whom the three faculties (aspiration/action/knowledge) are genuinely oriented toward the ultimate rather than the mogha-targets of the mūḍha.
What it does NOT mean
This verse's mahātmā (great-souled) is not a title earned through external achievement or belonging to a special lineage. The mahātmā's definition is internal: daivī prakṛti (divine nature), ananya-manas (undivided mind toward the Supreme), and jñāna of the divine origin. Anyone can cultivate these — they are not reserved for saints or monks. The mahātmā here is the Gita's description of what this chapter's teaching, when lived, produces.
Take with you
- This verse's daivī prakṛti (divine nature) as an aspiration: the mahātmā is NOT born with a special divine nature — they have taken shelter in it (āśritāḥ = having taken refuge). The daivī prakṛti is a refuge one can take shelter in through the practices described in the next verse — ever glorifying the divine, striving with firm resolve, bowing in devotion, always steadfast — through the orientation of aspiration, action, and knowledge toward the divine ground. This verse is an invitation: take shelter in the daivī prakṛti — today.
- This verse's ananya-manasaḥ (undivided mind) as a practice quality: the mahātmā's devotion is ananya (not-other) — not divided between the divine and the finite, not hedging. This is the quality of complete attention. The practice here: once a day, for at least 5 minutes, be completely present with the divine — no other agenda, no background noise of other goals. This is ananya-manas in practice.
- This verse's jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam (knowing the Supreme as imperishable origin) as an integrated knowing-devotion: the mahātmā doesn't just feel devotion emotionally OR know the divine intellectually — they KNOW (jñātvā) and WORSHIP (bhajanti) simultaneously. The model here: let the intellectual knowing of the divine's nature — drawn from this chapter's earlier teaching, where the divine pervades all in unmanifest form and oversees prakriti's revolving — deepen your devotion (bhajanti), and let your devotion deepen your knowing. These are not separate.
Public-domain translations (2) compare all →
But the great-souled ones, O son of Pritha, possessed of the Divine Prakriti, knowing Me to be the origin of beings and immutable, worship Me with a single mind. [4]
But My Mahatmas, those of noble soul Who tread the path celestial, worship Me With hearts unwandering,--knowing Me the Source, Th' Eternal Source, of Life. [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Fools in human form disregard Me, not knowing My supreme nature as the great Lord of all beings.
At the end of many births, the wise takes refuge in Me — 'Vāsudeva is all.' That great soul is exceedingly rare.
For those who worship Me with undivided thought, always steadfast — I carry what they lack and guard what they have.
I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
Peaceful, fearless, vowed to brahmacharya, mind on Krishna — yoked in practice, with the Supreme as the final goal.
With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.
Verse 13 of 34 · back to Chapter 9