ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् । मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः ॥
ye yathā māṃ prapadyante tāṃs tathaiva bhajāmy aham | mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ ||
However you approach Me — I respond in that same way. All human paths ultimately follow My path.
Word by word (3)
- ye yathā māṃ prapadyante tāṃs tathaiva bhajāmi aham
- — however people approach Me, I reward/respond to them in exactly that way · Ye = whoever. Yathā = in whatever way, however. Prapadyante = they approach, take refuge in (pra+pad = to step forward fully, to surrender). Tāṃs = them. Tathā eva = in exactly that same way. Bhajāmi = I respond, I worship back, I reward (from bhaj — to share, to serve). Aham = I. The cosmic law of spiritual reciprocity: the path and manner of approach determines the nature of what is received.
- mama vartma anuvartante manuṣyāḥ sarvaśaḥ
- — humans in every way follow My path · Mama = My. Vartma = path, track (from vṛt). Anuvartante = they follow (same word as V3.23 — the śreṣṭha's path is followed). Sarvaśaḥ = in every way, entirely. All human paths ultimately trace My path — the divine is the underlying reality that every sincere search is approaching, regardless of the name or form of the search.
- prapadyante
- — prapadyante = they approach/take refuge/fall forward toward (pra = forward/fully; pad = to step/fall; pra + pad = to step fully forward, to approach with full surrender; prapatti = the act of complete falling-forward into the Divine's presence — not hesitant approach but total forward-movement; related to prapatti doctrine in bhakti: complete surrender as the act of approach); ye yathā prapadyante = whatever form of this complete approach they make
In whatever way people approach Me, I respond to them in exactly that way. All people follow My path in every way, O Arjuna.
A modern analogy
A great river has many tributaries — each flows differently, from different terrain, with different names. But all tributaries reach the same ocean. V11: whatever your spiritual approach — devotion, inquiry, service, meditation — the divine responds through that exact form. And all forms converge.
Take with you
- Ye yathā — 'in whatever way.' No single path has a monopoly on the divine response.
- The divine mirrors your approach: come with devotion, receive devotion; come with inquiry, receive wisdom.
- Mama vartmānuvartante sarvaśaḥ — all paths are My path. This is the Gita's universal inclusivity.
- This verse is the philosophical basis for respecting all genuine spiritual approaches.
V11 is one of the Gita's most universally celebrated verses — the explicit declaration of spiritual inclusivity. The principle ye yathā prapadyante tāṃs tathaiva bhajāmi establishes a cosmic law of spiritual reciprocity: the divine responds in the exact form and manner of approach. Approach through jñāna — receive jñāna. Through bhakti — receive grace. Through karma-yoga — receive freedom in action. Shankaracharya reads the second line (mama vartmānuvartante sarvaśaḥ) as the ontological ground: all paths are My paths because I am the underlying reality that all paths are navigating. Even those who do not know My name are approaching Me through the sincere movement of their search.
Advaita lens
From the Advaita perspective, V11 establishes that there is ultimately only one Reality (Brahman) being approached through different forms. The different paths (bhakti, jñāna, karma) are different levels of approximation of the same truth. At the highest level (pāramārthika), all distinctions dissolve — the seeker, the sought, and the seeking are one. V11's 'I respond in that way' describes the level of vyavahāra (conventional reality); at pāramārthika level, there is only the One responding to Itself.
Bhakti lens
V11 — ye yathā māṃ prapadyante tāṃs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (however they approach Me, I respond in kind) — is bhakti's charter of unconditional love. The Divine does not demand a specific form of approach; Krishna meets every devotee exactly where they are, in their own form of relationship. The one who comes with fear is met with protection; the one who comes with awe is met with majesty; the one who comes with love is met with love. Mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ (humans follow My path in every direction) means: every genuine human seeking, regardless of path or name, is a form of approaching the Divine. For bhakti, V11 is the most inclusive verse in the Gita: all forms of relationship with the Divine are honoured, all paths are embraced, all approaches are returned with equal grace.
Karma-Yoga lens
Vivekananda used V11 as the foundation of his doctrine of the harmony of religions (sarva-dharma-samabhāva). Each path — karma, jñāna, bhakti, rāja yoga — is a complete path to the same destination. The karma-yogi does not need to switch to bhakti or jñāna — they follow their own path completely and arrive at the same place. V11 liberates the karma-yogi from path-anxiety: your path is sufficient if followed genuinely.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
In whatever way men approach Me, even so do I reward them. It is My path that men tread in every way, O son of Pritha. [1]
In whatever way men approach Me, even so do I reward them; My path do men tread in all ways, O son of Pritha. [4]
In whatever way any come to me, in that way do I assist them; whatever path they walk in, that path is mine, O Arjuna. [6]
However men approach Me, even so Do I accept them; all paths, Pritha's Son! Lead to Me. [7]
Whatever devotees worship Me with faith, I am that faith of theirs. O son of Pritha, all men follow My path in every way. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Even devotees of other gods who worship with faith — they too worship Me, though not by the ordained method, O Arjuna.
Many, freed from attachment, fear, and anger, purified by knowledge-austerity — have attained My being.
The wisdom-yoked person rises above good and bad karma alike. Yoga is supreme skill in action.
Seeing inaction in action, action in inaction — that one is wise, a yogi, a complete doer of all actions.
Nothing in this world purifies like jñāna. The karma-yogi finds it within themselves in time.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.