Lord Krishna
Divine TeacherThe Supreme Lord, the charioteer and divine guide of Arjuna. Krishna delivers the eternal wisdom of the Gita, revealing the nature of the soul, duty, and the path to liberation.
Speaking: Chapter 12, Verse 20
Verse 20
The Yoga of Devotion
Those who honor this immortal teaching of dharma as described, endowed with faith and devoted to Me as the supreme goal—those devotees are exceedingly dear to Me.
Context & Meaning
The chapter concludes with a benediction. Those who receive this teaching with faith, who honor it not merely intellectually but through lived practice, and who regard God as the supreme goal — these are atīva priyāḥ — exceedingly, supremely dear. The word amṛtam — immortal, nectar — applied to the teaching is significant. This is not merely good advice; it is the nectar of immortality. To absorb and live by this teaching is itself a form of liberation. The chapter ends where it begins: in the intimacy between the devotee and God.
Scholar Commentaries
2 commentaries · Public domainRamanujacharya
VishishtadvaitaDharmyāmṛtam — the immortal nectar of dharma. This is the Gita's self-description of the teaching of Chapter 12: it is not merely ethical instruction but the living nectar of eternal truth. To follow this teaching is to drink from the source of immortality itself. And those who do so are atīva — intensely, beyond measure — dear to God.
Madhvacharya
DvaitaThe chapter closes with the word priyāḥ — beloved. The entire chapter began with a question about paths and ends with an answer that transcends path altogether: what matters is love. The devotee who loves is loved. The Gita here speaks the deepest truth of the universe: the Divine loves those who love the Divine. This is the royal secret, the royal knowledge, the most secret of all secrets.