Shloka 17
Rāja-Vidyā Rāja-Guhya Yoga (राजविद्या राजगुह्य योग) — The Yoga of Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret
तेषां ज्ञानी नित्ययुक्त एकभक्तिर्विशिष्यते । प्रियो हि ज्ञानिनोउत्यर्थमहं स च मम प्रिय:,उनमें नित्य मुझमें एकीभावसे स्थित अनन्य प्रेमभक्तिवाला ज्ञानी भक्त अति उत्तम है; क्योंकि मुझको तत्त्वसे जाननेवाले ज्ञानीको मैं अत्यन्त प्रिय हूँ और वह ज्ञानी मुझे अत्यन्त प्रिय हैः
teṣāṃ jñānī nityayukta ekabhaktir viśiṣyate | priyo hi jñānino 'tyartham ahaṃ sa ca mama priyaḥ ||
Among all such devotees, the wise one—ever steadfast in disciplined union and devoted with single-minded love—stands out as the best. For I am supremely dear to the knower of truth, and that knower is supremely dear to me. The teaching highlights an ethical ideal of unwavering inner commitment: devotion grounded in true understanding, not merely in need or fear.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the highest devotee is the jñānī—one who knows the truth and remains constantly united with the Divine through single-minded devotion. Such devotion is not transactional; it is grounded in understanding, steadiness, and exclusive commitment, and it is met with mutual intimacy: the Divine is dear to the knower, and the knower is dear to the Divine.
In the Gita’s dialogue on the battlefield, the speaker is explaining gradations among devotees. After describing different kinds of people who turn to the Divine, this verse singles out the wise, steadfast, one-pointed devotee as foremost, emphasizing the special reciprocal bond between the Divine and the knower.