Bhagavad Gita 9.24 अहं हि सर्वयज्ञानां भोक्ता च प्रभुरेव च

Bhagavad Gita 9.24 — word by word

Explanation

For I alone am the receiver of all sacrifices and their Lord. But they do not know me as I truly am, and so they fall back into the cycle of birth. Not knowing this, their reward remains limited. Their worship is real, but incomplete.

Krishna explains 9.23. He is the bhokta, the one who receives every offering, and the prabhu, the Lord who grants its fruit; he said the same in 5.29. Those who worship without knowing this receive limited, perishable rewards and fall back (cyavanti) from heaven to earth. Shankara reads the fall as return to the cycle after enjoying the fruit. Ramanuja says that if the same worship were offered knowing the Lord as its true recipient, it would lead to him. Knowledge changes the result of the very same act.

भावार्थ

मैं ही सब यज्ञों का भोक्ता और स्वामी हूँ; परन्तु वे मुझे तत्त्व से नहीं जानते, इसलिए गिर जाते हैं अर्थात् पुनर्जन्म को प्राप्त होते हैं। अतः उन्हें सीमित फल ही मिलता है।

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