Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 12, Verse 20: Krishna to Arjuna — Bhakti-Yoga

Bhāṣyakāra purports

• Śaṅkaraadvaita

  Those sannyasins (renunciants) who uphold this dharmic nectar — the virtuous conduct described from 'adveshtaa sarva-bhutanam' onward — are those for whom I, the imperishable Self (akshara-atman), am the supreme unsurpassable goal (mat-paramah). Shankara reads mat-paramah as one whose highest destination is the akshara-brahman, and bhakti here as the highest-order knowledge-devotion (paramartha-jnana-lakshanaa bhakti), not emotional piety. They are supremely dear to me because this dharmic-nectar, faithfully practiced by the mumukshu (liberation-seeker), leads to Vishnu's supreme abode — the verse is the upasanhaara (summation) of the chapter's entire teaching.

• Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

  Those devotees who practice bhakti-yoga exactly as enjoined — 'mayyaveshya mano ye mam' (BG 12.2) onward — are upasating (worshipping) what is simultaneously dharmya (the path of dharma) and amrita (the nectar that is the goal). For Ramanuja, bhakti-yoga is both the means (prapaka) and the fruit (prapya) — the lover and the beloved collapse into one loving service. Such devotees are supremely dear to the Lord because their entire being is directed toward His enjoyment of their surrender.

• Madhvadvaita

  Madhva opens with a technical gloss: dharma here means Vishnu Himself (dharmo Vishnus tat-vishayam dharmyam), so dharma-amrita means 'that which has Vishnu as its content and destroys samsara (mrityu-adi-samsara-nashakam).' Shraddha is defined etymologically as 'aastikyam' — positive certitude in Hari's supremacy, not merely trust. The jiva, eternally distinct from Hari, can only approach Him through this certitude-soaked worship; there is no merger, only increasing intimacy. Those who thus worship are supremely dear.

• Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

  Vallabha distinguishes two tracks in the chapter: the maryada path (rule-bound practice, akshara-upasana) and the pushti path (grace-flooded devotion). This closing verse, for him, affirms that the daiva-jivas — those souls whom Krishna has chosen through His own grace-impulse (pushti) — who serve this seva-dharma (service-religion that is nectar) exactly as enjoined are supremely dear. The verse seals the point that pushti-bhakti is sorrow-free (sukham) while the impersonal maryada path involves hardship (duhkham maryada-api hi). Their shelter is Krishna alone (madaashrayaah).

• Śrīdharabhakti

  Shridhara reads the verse as the concluding summing-up (upasamhaara) of the entire catalogue of dharmas enumerated since BG 12.13. The compound dharmya-amrita is glossed two ways: (1) dharma that is itself amrita because it is the means to immortality (amritatva-sadhanatva), and (2) some manuscripts read 'dharmam amritam' separately. Those who practice this entire prescribed dharma with shraddha and with the conviction that Krishna is their highest goal (mat-paramah) are most dear. The voice is measured and philological — no school-collapse, close attention to textual variants.

• Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

  Madhusudana provides the richest synthesis: the qualities listed from 'adveshtaa sarva-bhutanam' are not separately cultivated virtues but the spontaneous natural marks (svabhava-siddha lakshana) of one whose self-knowledge has already arisen — as his Vartika states, 'utpanna-atma-avabodhasya adveshtritvadayo gunah ayatnatah bhavantyeva na tu sadhana-rupinah.' Nevertheless, for the mumukshu who has not yet attained full jnana, these same qualities function as deliberate sadhana (prayatnena sampaaditam). Mat-paramah is glossed as 'the Supreme is Bhagavan Vasudeva, the akshara-atman, Brahman without limiting adjuncts (nirupadhika-brahma).' The devotees who practice this dharmic-nectar with shraddha, taking Brahman-as-Vasudeva as their supreme, are most dear — the verse is the upasanhaara of the middle hexad (madhyama-shatka) of the Gita.