Shloka 16

Rāja-Vidyā Rāja-Guhya Yoga (राजविद्या राजगुह्य योग) — The Yoga of Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret

Devanagari script

चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जना: सुकृतिनोअ<र्जुनर | आर्तों जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ,किंतु हे भरतवंशियोंमें श्रेष्ठ अर्जुन! उत्तम कर्म करनेवाले अर्थार्थिर्ड, आर्त,+ जिज्ञासुरई और ज्ञानी२--ऐसे चार प्रकारके भक्तजन मुझको भजते हैं

Transliteration

caturvidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ sukṛtino 'rjuna | ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Arjuna, cuatro clases de hombres virtuosos me rinden devoción: el afligido, el que busca conocimiento, el que busca bienes mundanos y el sabio—oh el mejor de los Bhāratas.

Word by Word

चतुर्विधाःof four kinds

भजन्तेworship/serve

माम्me

जनाःpeople

सुकृतिनःvirtuous / doers of good deeds

अर्जुनO Arjuna

आर्तःthe distressed (one)

जिज्ञासुःthe seeker of knowledge

अर्थार्थीthe seeker of wealth/benefit

ज्ञानीthe wise (knower)

चand

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas (best of Bharatas)

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Bharatas (Bharata lineage)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Kṛṣṇa teaches that devotion arises from four main motivations—distress, curiosity for truth, desire for gain, and wisdom—and that all are recognized as meritorious beginnings, with the jñānī representing the most mature, insight-grounded devotion.

What is happening in the narrative?

On the battlefield discourse of the Mahābhārata, Kṛṣṇa addresses Arjuna and categorizes the kinds of people who approach the Divine, framing Arjuna’s spiritual crisis within a broader ethical-spiritual map of human motives for turning toward God.