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Arjuna said Those devotees who, ever steadfast, thus worship Thee and those also who worship the imperishable and the unmanifested which of them are better versed in Yoga?

Arjuna said: Of those devotees who, ever joined in this way, worship you, and those who worship the Imperishable, the unmanifest, which are the best knowers of yoga?

This short chapter on devotion opens with a question from Arjuna. After seeing the overwhelming cosmic form in the previous chapter, he asks which kind of seeker knows yoga best. Some worship Krishna as a personal Lord, constantly joined to him in devotion (bhakti). Others worship the Imperishable (akṣara), the unmanifest (avyakta), beyond all form. Arjuna wants to know which way is higher. His question touches one of the oldest debates in Indian religious thought, and Krishna's answer is carefully balanced.