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BG 9.24 — 9.24 (For) I alone am the enjoyer and also the Lord of all sacrifices; but they do not know Me in essence (in reality), and hence they fall (return to this
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अहं हि सर्वयज्ञानां भोक्ता च प्रभुरेव च |
न तु मामभिजानन्ति तत्त्वेनातश्च्यवन्ति ते ||९-२४||

ahaṃ hi sarvayajñānāṃ bhoktā ca prabhureva ca . na tu māmabhijānanti tattvenātaścyavanti te ||9-24||


9.24 (For) I alone am the enjoyer and also the Lord of all sacrifices; but they do not know Me in essence (in reality), and hence they fall (return to this mortal world).

Word-by-word meanings

9.24 अहम् I? हि verily? सर्वयज्ञानाम् of all sacrifices? भोक्ता enjoyer? च and? प्रभुः Lord? एव alone? च and? न not? तु but? माम् Me? अभिजानन्ति know? तत्त्वेन in essence (or in reality)? अतः hence? च्यवन्ति fall? ते they.Commentary They do not know that I? the Supreme Self? am the enjoyer of all sacrifices enjoined in the Vedas and the Smritis (the codes of right conduct) and the Lord of all sacrifices. As I am the inner Ruler of this world I am the Lord of all sacrifices (Vide chapter VIII. 4

Commentaries

Non-dualism. The individual self and Brahman are one. The world is appearance (maya). Liberation through knowledge.

Sri Shankaracharya

9.24 As the Self of the deities (of the sacrifices), aham, I; hi, indeed; am the bhokta, enjoyer; ca eva, as also; the prabhuh, Lord; [The Lord: 'I being the indwelling Ruler of all.'] sarva-yajnanam, of all sacrifices enjoined by the Vedas and the Smrtis. A sacrifice is verily presided over by Me, for it has been said earlier, 'I Myself am the entity (called Visnu) that exists in the sacrifice in this body' (8.4). Tu, but; na abhi-jananti, they do not know; mam, Me as such; tattvena, in reality. And atah, therefore, by worshipping ignorantly; te, they; cyavanti, fall from the result of the sacrifice. ['Although they perform sacrifices with great diligence, still just because they do not know Me real nature and do not offer the fruits of their sacrifices to Me, they proceed to the worlds of the respective deities through the Southern Path (beginning with smoke; see 8.25). Then, after the exhaustion of the results of those sacrifices and the falling of the respective bodies (assumed in those worlds) they return to the human world for rembodiment.'-M.S. (See also 9.20-1.)] The result of a sacrifice is inevitable even for those who worship ignorantly out of their devotion to other deities. How?

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Swami Gambirananda

9.24 I indeed am the enjoyer as also the Lord of all sacrifices; but they do not know Me in reality. Therefore they fall.

This interpretation draws on the Advaita tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

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