Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 13, Verse 10: Krishna to Arjuna — Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña-Vibhāga-Yoga

Bhāṣyakāra purports

• Śaṅkaraadvaita

  Ananya-yoga is undivided samādhi, the settled conviction 'there is none higher than Bhagavān Vāsudeva, so He alone is our refuge'; worship with that conviction is bhakti, avyabhicāriṇī because it does not stray - and that too is knowledge. Vivikta-deśa-sevitva is the habit of resorting to a secluded place, naturally or ritually clean and free of snakes and tigers, such as a forest, a river bank or a temple, for in such places the mind becomes clear and contemplation of the Self arises. Arati in a crowd means no delight in the gathering of uncultured, undisciplined people - not of the cultured, since that helps knowledge - and since it serves knowledge it is called knowledge.

  divergence: Śaṅkara admits unswerving bhakti to Vāsudeva into the list but classes it as jñāna because it serves knowledge; he restricts jana-saṃsad to gatherings of uncultured (prākṛta) people, not all company.

• Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

  Firm bhakti toward Me, the Lord of all, through single-pointed yoga; dwelling in places free of people; and lack of delight in the assembly of people.

  divergence: Rāmānuja's supplied comment is a terse paraphrase: ananya-yoga becomes aikāntika-yoga (single-pointed devotion) to the sarveśvara, with none of Śaṅkara's restriction of the crowd to the uncultured.

• Madhvadvaita

  No Dvaita commentary is supplied for this verse.

  divergence: ABSENT: the payload's Madhva prose for this verse is empty. No rendering is fabricated. Jayatīrtha's Prameyadīpikā is also silent on this verse.

• Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

  Bhakti toward Me through ananya-yoga, unstraying, is causeless (nirhetukī), and it is placed in the middle of the list as its heart.

  divergence: THIN but pointed: Vallabha's single line makes bhakti nirhetukī (without motive) and calls its middle placement the list's hṛdaya (heart) - bhakti as the center of the means, not one item that serves knowledge.

• Śrīdharabhakti

  Unstraying, single-pointed bhakti toward Me, the Supreme Lord, through ananya-yoga understood as seeing Me as the Self of all; the habit of resorting to a secluded place, which makes the mind clear and pure; and absence of delight in the assemblies of common people.

  divergence: Śrīdhara glosses ananya-yoga as sarvātma-dṛṣṭi (seeing the Lord as the Self of all), fusing devotion with non-dual vision; like Śaṅkara he limits the crowd to prākṛta (worldly) people.

• Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

  Bhakti toward Me, Bhagavān Vāsudeva, is love preceded by knowing Him as the highest of all; through ananya-yoga - the conviction 'there is none higher than Vāsudeva, He alone is our refuge' - it is unstraying, unable to be stopped by any adverse cause, and this love too is a cause of knowledge, as the saying goes that one is not freed from the body until there is love for Me. The secluded place is one naturally or ritually pure, such as a bank of the celestial river, which brings clarity, as the śruti prescribes a level, clean, quiet place pleasing to the mind. Arati is no delight in assemblies of people averse to Self-knowledge who teach greed for sense-enjoyment, while delight in the company of the good is fitting - for, as is said, attachment should be given up altogether, but if it cannot be, let it be with the good, since the company of saints is medicine.

  divergence: Madhusūdana defines bhakti as prīti preceded by knowing Vāsudeva's supremacy and makes it indispensable to liberation, and positively prescribes sat-saṅga (company of the good) as medicine - a step beyond Śaṅkara's merely tolerating cultured company.