Shloka 16
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
caturvidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ sukṛtino 'rjuna | ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha ||
चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन । आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ ॥
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.