Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 13, Verse 25: Krishna to Arjuna — Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña-Vibhāga-Yoga
Those who cannot grasp the self through their own practice simply listen to those who can, and even they, devoted to what they hear, cross beyond death.
Bhāṣyakāra purports
- Śaṅkaraadvaita
Those who cannot directly apprehend the self through their own effort turn to hearing from knowers of truth, then take up upasana (worship-as-meditation) as their path. Shankara reads 'shrutva anyebhyah' (having heard from others) as indicating the seeker who lacks direct eligibility for nididhyasana (sustained absorption) but whose shruti-nishtha (steadfast adherence to scripture-hearing) itself purifies. Even this listener, taking scripture as supreme resort, crosses beyond mrityu (death) — the cycle of becoming — because the hearing orients the antahkarana (inner instrument) toward brahman and eventually ripens into jnana.
- Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita
Ramanuja reads 'anye' (others) as those not yet qualified for karma-yoga or upasana as direct atma-viewing — they stand one step removed, receiving tattva (truth of the self) secondhand from jnanis and tattvadarsins (seers of truth). Their path is shravanamatra-nishtha (steadfast devotion to mere listening), which purifies papa (sin) and gradually opens access to karma-yoga and then bhakti-yoga. The 'api' particle marks a sequence: even they cross mrityu — not instantly, but by degrees as shravana builds the foundation for fuller sadhana (practice).
- Madhvadvaita
Madhva, citing the Gaupavana-shruti, insists every mode — karma, shravana (hearing), sankhya, and dhyana — ultimately requires the seeker to hear, know, and meditate on Bhagavan's own svarupa (essential nature). The 'anye' here points to the incapacitated (ashakta), for whom Bhagavan mercifully provides this graduated ladder. Even the shravaka (auditor who only hears) must still internalize through jna (knowing) and dhyana (meditation); without this, drishti (vision of the Lord) can never arise under any circumstance.
- Vallabhaśuddhādvaita
Vallabha reads the verse economically: the Lord lists alternative visions of the self — through dhyana (meditation), sankhya-yoga (discriminative analysis), ashta-anga yoga (eight-limbed yoga), and nishkama karma-yoga (desireless action). The verse functions as a catalogue of Krishna's prasada (grace) operating through different temperamental channels; each path is a form of the Lord's own lila (play) drawing the jiva (individual self) toward recognition of shuddha-brahman (pure Brahman) as identical with the jiva's own nature.
- Śrīdharabhakti
Shridhara reads the verse as presenting sadhana-vikalpa (alternatives in spiritual practice): some see the atman through dhyana by cycling atma-akara-pratyaya (repetition of the self-shaped cognition); others through sankhya by reflecting on the distinction between prakriti and purusha (matter and spirit); others through ashta-anga yoga; yet others through karma-yoga. The 'anyebhyah shrutva upasate' (worshipping after hearing from others) group are those who lack direct qualification but whose shruti-parayanata (supreme resort to what is heard) itself carries them across mrityu.
- Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti
Madhusudana arranges the verse into four tiers of adhikara (qualification): the uttama (best) practise dhyana as nididhyasana (sustained contemplative absorption) — the fruit of shravana and manana; the madhyama (middling) employ sankhya-yoga as the reflective phase of shravanam-mananam; the manda (slow) purify via karma-yoga yielding sattva-shuddhi (purification of the sattva quality) which opens the path to jnana. The fourth group — the mandatara (slower still) who merely hear from others — are not abandoned: their shruti-parayanata (dedication to what is heard) purifies across time, and they too cross mrityu by this means.