Word meanings
- catuḥ-vidhāḥ
- four kinds
- bhajante
- worship
- mām
- me
- janāḥ
- people
- su-kṛtinaḥ
- those who are pious
- arjuna
- Arjun
- ārtaḥ
- the distressed
- jijñāsuḥ
- the seekers of knowledge
- artha-arthī
- the seekers of material gain
- jñānī
- those who are situated in knowledge
- ca
- and
- bharata-ṛṣabha
- The best amongst the Bharatas, Arjun
Translations
Four kinds of virtuous men worship Me, O Arjuna, and they are the distressed, the seekers of knowledge, the seekers of wealth, and the wise, O Lord of the Bharatas.
O Arjuna! The righteous who worship Me are grouped in stages: first, those who suffer, next those who desire knowledge, then those who thirst after truth, and lastly those who attain wisdom.
O Arjuna, foremost of the Bharata dynasty, four classes of people of virtuous deeds adore Me: the afflicted, the seekers of Knowledge, the seekers of wealth, and the man of Knowledge.
हे भरतवंशियोंमें श्रेष्ठ अर्जुनव ! पवित्र कर्म करनेवाले अर्थार्थी, आर्त, जिज्ञासु और ज्ञानी अर्थात् प्रेमी -- ये चार प्रकारके मनुष्य मेरा भजन करते हैं अर्थात् मेरे शरण होते हैं।Commentary
The distressed is he who is suffering from a chronic and incurable disease, he whose life is in jeopardy on account of earthake, volcanic eruption, thunder, attack by a dacoit or enemy or tiger, etc. When Draupadi and Gajendra were in great distress they worshipped the Lord. These are the instances of Aarta Bhakti. Jijnasu is the enirer. He is dissatisfied with this world. There is a void in his life. He always feels that sensual pleasure is not the highest form of happiness and there is yet pure eternal bliss unmixed with grief and pain, which is to be found within.
Janaka and Uddhava were devotees of this type. Seeker of wealth is he who craves for money, wife, children, position, name and fame. Sugriva? Vibhishana? Upamanyu and Dhruva were all devotees of this type. The wise are the men of knowledge who have attained to Selfillumination. Sukadeva was a Jnani-Bhakta. Kamsa? Sishupala and Ravana thought of the Lord constantly on account of fear and hatred (Vaira-Bhakti). Hence they are also regarded as devotees. Be devoted to God, whatever be your motive.
Devotion will purify the motive in due course.