अर्जुन
In plain words
Arjuna said: Of those bhaktas who, ever collected in this way, meditate on You, and those who meditate on the imperishable Unmanifest—which are the better knowers of yoga?
Word for word
Thus, ever collected, those devotees who meditate on You, and those also who [meditate on] the imperishable, the unmanifest: among them, which [are] the best knowers of yoga?
एवं सततयुक्ता ये भक्तास्त्वां पर्युपासतेये चाप्यक्षरमव्यक्तं तेषां के योगवित्तमाः
Other commentaries
The commentators
▸Bhagavadgītābhāṣyam
द्वितीयाध्यायप्रभृतिषु विभूत्यन्तेषु अध्यायेषु परमात्मनः ब्रह्मणः अक्षरस्य विध्वस्तसर्वोपाधिविशेषस्य उपासनम् उक्तम् ; सर्वयोगैश्वर्यसर्वज्ञानशक्तिमत्सत्त्वोपाधेः ईश्वरस्य तव च उपासनं तत्र तत्र उक्तम् । विश्वरूपाध्याये तु ऐश्वरम् आद्यं समस्तजगदात्मरूपं विश्वरूपं त्वदीयं दर्शितम् उपासनार्थमेव त्वया । तच्च दर्शयित्वा उक्तवानसि ‘मत्कर्मकृत्’(भ. गी. ११ । ५५) इत्यादि । अतः अहम् अनयोः उभयोः पक्षयोः विशिष्टतरबुभुत्सया त्वां पृच्छामि इति अर्जुन उवाच —
एवम् इति अतीतानन्तरश्लोकेन उक्तम् अर्थं परामृशति ‘मत्कर्मकृत्’(भ. गी. ११ । ५५) इत्यादिना । एवं सततयुक्ताः, नैरन्तर्येण भगवत्कर्मादौ यथोक्ते अर्थे समाहिताः सन्तः प्रवृत्ता इत्यर्थः । ये भक्ताः अनन्यशरणाः सन्तः त्वां यथादर्शितं विश्वरूपं पर्युपासते ध्यायन्ति ; ये चान्येऽपि त्यक्तसर्वैषणाः संन्यस्तसर्वकर्माणः यथाविशेषितं ब्रह्म अक्षरं निरस्तसर्वोपाधित्वात् अव्यक्तम् अकरणगोचरम् । यत् हि करणगोचरं तत् व्यक्तम् उच्यते, अञ्जेः धातोः तत्कर्मकत्वात् ; इदं तु अक्षरं तद्विपरीतम् , शिष्टैश्च उच्यमानैः विशेषणैः विशिष्टम् , तत् ये चापि पर्युपासते, तेषाम् उभयेषां मध्ये के योगवित्तमाः ? के अतिशयेन योगविदः इत्यर्थः ॥ १ ॥
In plain words
From the second chapter all the way through the one on your divine manifestations, you have taught meditation on the Supreme Self, on Brahman, on the Imperishable — that reality stripped of every limiting condition. And, here and there in those same chapters, you have also taught meditation on you as the Lord, the one holding every kind of yogic power and all-knowing strength. But then, in the chapter on the universal form, you showed me your own form, ancient and lordly, the very self of the whole world, precisely so I would have something to meditate on. And after showing me that, you said, 'One who does my work...' and went on from there. So now I want to understand more precisely: between these two paths, which is it? That is what Arjuna said —
'Thus' points straight back to the verse just before this one, to that phrase 'one who does my work' and everything that followed it. 'Ever engaged, thus' means: without a break, holding steady on that very point, absorbed in the Lord's work — that is what it means. There are devotees who have no refuge but you, and who worship, who meditate on, this universal form you showed me. And there are others, just as real, who have let go of every desire, renounced every action, and meditate instead on Brahman, the Imperishable — described here as unmanifest, because it carries no limiting condition at all and lies beyond anything the senses could ever touch. Whatever the senses can reach, Śaṅkara notes, is what we properly call 'manifest' — the word itself comes from a root meaning to make something visible to the senses. This Imperishable is the exact opposite: beyond that, and further defined by everything the verse goes on to say. So here is Arjuna's real question: of these two, the ones who meditate on your form and the ones who meditate on the unmanifest, which are the true masters of yoga? Which of them has actually gone furthest?
Close to the Sanskrit
In the chapters from the second onward, ending with [the chapter on] the vibhūtis, the meditation on the Supreme Self, on Brahman, on the Imperishable, whose every particular limiting adjunct has been destroyed, has been taught; and the meditation on the Lord — possessed of the state qualified by all yogic sovereignty and all-knowing power — [that is] on you, has been taught here and there. But in the chapter on the universal form, your own lordly, primeval, universal form, whose nature is the self of the entire world, was shown by you precisely for the sake of meditation. And having shown that, you said 'one who does my work' [Bhagavadgītā 11.55] and so on. Therefore, with a desire to know more precisely between these two positions, I ask you — thus said Arjuna —
'Evam' (thus) — by the immediately preceding verse, [Arjuna] refers back to the meaning [already] stated, [namely] 'one who does my work' [Bhagavadgītā 11.55] and so on. 'Thus ever-engaged' — continuously, being composed in the matter as [already] stated, in the Lord's work and so forth, being engaged — that is the meaning. Those devotees who, having no other refuge, worship, meditate upon, you as shown [in your] universal form; and those others also who, having abandoned all desires, having renounced all actions, [meditate upon] Brahman, the Imperishable, as specifically qualified [before] — [called] unmanifest because of being stripped of every limiting condition, beyond the range of the [sense-]faculties. For that which is within the range of the faculties is called 'manifest', because of [the root] añj having that as its object; but this Imperishable is the opposite of that, and is further qualified by the remaining qualifiers being stated — that [Brahman], which those others also worship — among both of these [groups], who are the best knowers of yoga? Who, to an eminent degree, are knowers of yoga? — that is the meaning.