Chapter9 Shloka25 - Shrimad Bhagvad Gita

Shrimad Bhagvad Gita

Chapter 9 : Guhya Yoga, the Confidential knowledge

Ch 09 : Sh 25

यान्ति देवव्रता देवान्पितृन्यान्ति पितृव्रताः ।
भूतानि यान्ति भूतेज्या यान्ति मद्याजिनोऽपि माम्‌ ॥

Transliteration

yānti deva-vratā devān pitṛn-yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ |
bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti madyājino’pi mām || 25 ||

Translation

They who worship the gods go to the gods and those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors and those who worship the elemental beings go to the elemental beings, but those who worship Me come to Me alone. --English Translation of Shri Madhavacharya bhashya

Purport

In this Shloka Bhagvan Shri Krishna explains the destination of different kind of worships. Those who worship deities(devas) take birth in deva lokas (Planets where deities reside). Those who worship their ancestors are born among them in Pitri Loka in the next birth. Those devotees who worship Shri Krishna goes to the abode of Shri Krishna, the Vaikuntha or Goloka.
The description of this three scenario is quite clear. However, there are different interpretation for the third part of the Shloka, which uses the word “Bhut” as in “bhūtāni”, “bhūtejyā”. Some experts have taken the meaning of the word “Bhut” as ghosts which I think is not appropriate. The word “bhut” is used as numerous places in Shrimad Bhagvad Gita and many other scriptures and always means “Livin being”.
For example:
Ch10:Sh20
अहमात्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थितः ।
अहमादिश्च मध्यं च भूतानामन्त एव च ॥
O Arjuna!. I am the self-placed in the heart of living beings. I am the beginning, middle, and end of all living beings.

similarly in Ch9:Sh29
समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु
I treat all living beings with equality.

the Sanskrit word “bhut” means living being and this is extremely unlikely that this word will take some other meaning for one Shloka. The Sanskrit word for ghost is “preta”, “pischaca” and not “Bhut”

For this Shloka I take the interpretation of Shri Madhvacharya as correct. He has interpreted the “bhut” with elemental being means some living being in above Shloka. I have put the same meaning.

This Shloka gives one of the broadest definitions of worship ever possible. In essence, this shloka declares that humans can worship not only deity but any living being, even those living being which is inferior to humans. But that human has to born among those living being as the result of worship.