Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 9, Verse 15: Krishna to Arjuna — Rāja-Vidyā-Rāja-Guhya-Yoga
Others worship Me through the sacrifice of knowledge, some seeing My oneness everywhere, others seeing Me through My many distinct forms, and still others approaching Me through the countless faces I turn toward the world.
Bhāṣyakāra purports
- Śaṅkaraadvaita
Others worship Me through the sacrifice of knowledge (jñāna-yajña), offering knowledge itself — directed toward Īśvara — as the supreme act of veneration. Some among these worship through non-difference (ekatvena), beholding the one absolute Brahman as the only reality. Others worship through differentiation (pṛthaktvena), seeing that same Bhagavān manifest as Āditya, Candra, and the diverse forms of creation — and still others worship the cosmic-faced (viśvato-mukha) Lord in manifold modes (bahudhā), contemplating His universal form pervading all directions.
divergence: Śaṅkara's bhāṣya (present in payload): ज्ञानमेव भगवद्विषयं यज्ञः — 'knowledge itself, having the Lord as its object, is the sacrifice.' Three grades: paramārthadarśana (ekatva), āditya-candra-bheda (pṛthaktva), viśvarūpa as sarvato-mukha (bahudhā). Śaṅkara treats all three as finally converging on jñāna-mārga.
- Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita
Other great souls worship Me — Vāsudeva alone — through the sacrifice of knowledge, recognizing Me as the one who subsists as the body (śarīra) of all sentient and insentient reality (cit and acit). They worship Me through differentiation (pṛthaktvena) by contemplating the manifold world-forms as My body, and through non-difference (ekatvena) by knowing that this very diversity is one Bhagavān who, by His own resolve (satyasaṅkalpa), became the universe of multiform names and shapes.
divergence: Rāmānuja's bhāṣya (present in payload) reads: भगवान् वासुदेव एव नामरूपविभागानर्हातिसूक्ष्मचिदचिद्वस्तुशरीरः — Bhagavān Vāsudeva alone, with all subtle cit-acit as His body, resolves into multiform cosmic embodiment. Worship of the universe IS worship of Him.
- Madhvadvaita
Some worship through non-difference (ekatvena) — meaning: one Nārāyaṇa alone is present everywhere, without exception. Others worship through absolute distinction (pṛthaktvena) — recognizing His sovereign difference from all else, His unique excellence (vailakṣaṇya) that sets Him apart from every jīva and from prakṛti. And in manifold modes (bahudhā), His form itself shines as white, as red, as blue — as the Sanatsujāta verse declares — yet each form remains identically and exclusively Nārāyaṇa.
divergence: Madhva's bhāṣya (present in payload): सर्वत्र एक एव नारायणः स्थितः इत्येकत्वेन — ekatva = one Nārāyaṇa pervades all; pṛthaktva = His absolute distinction from everything else (sarvatah vailakṣaṇyena). Cites Sanatsujāta on multicolored divine forms.
- Vallabhaśuddhādvaita
Some worship Me through the sacrifice of knowledge framed as brahma-arpaṇa (the offering into Brahman itself), worshipping My imperishable nature (akṣara-svarūpa). Among these, Tāntrika practitioners contemplate unity (ekatvena) through the formula 'I am That' (so'smi). Others, through the Rājasa-Tāntrika mode, worship in differentiation (pṛthaktvena), approaching Me as sovereign Lord with the sentiment 'I am Your servant' (dāso'smi). And others worship in manifold forms (bahudhā) — as Śiva, Śakti, Sūrya, Gaṇeśa — or recognize Me as the cosmic-faced one manifest through all forms from jar to cloth.
divergence: Vallabha's bhāṣya (present in payload): केचिदेकत्वेन सोऽस्मि इत्यात्माभेदभावनया तान्त्रिकाः — some through Tāntrika identity-meditation; पृथक्त्वेन राजसतान्त्रिका दासोऽस्मीति — others via devotional difference; बहुधा शिवशक्तिसूर्यगणेशादि — manifold deity forms.
- Śrīdharabhakti
Others also worship Me through the sacrifice of knowledge — knowing 'Vāsudeva is everything' (vāsudevaḥ sarvam), which is itself the direct vision of My all-pervading nature (sarvātmatva-darśana). Some among them worship through non-difference (ekatvena), by the conviction that all is one supreme Brahman; others through differentiation (pṛthaktvena), holding the attitude 'I am the servant' (dāso'ham); and still others worship Me, the all-faced one (sarvātmaka), manifold (bahudhā) — as Brahmā, Rudra, and the other forms of divinity.
divergence: Śrīdhara's bhāṣya (present in payload): वासुदेवः सर्वमित्येवं सर्वात्मत्वदर्शनं ज्ञानं — knowledge = direct vision that Vāsudeva is all. Three upāsanā modes: paramārtha-darśana (ekatva), pṛthag-bhāvanā dāso'ham (pṛthaktva), brahma-rudra-ādi forms (bahudhā). Note: Śrīdhara's payload is free of HTML artifacts; pure Sanskrit prose used.
- Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti
Those incapable of hearing, reflection, and meditation (śravaṇa-manana-nididhyāsana) still worship Me in modes suited to their capacity. The best (uttama) practitioners, having renounced all other means, worship Me through knowledge-sacrifice (jñāna-yajña) in non-difference (ekatvena) — contemplating the unity of worshipper and worshipped. The middling (madhyama) worship through differentiation (pṛthaktvena), using proximate objects (pratīka-upāsanā) such as 'the Sun is Brahman.' And the lesser (manda), unable even to sustain identity-contemplation, worship in manifold modes (bahudhā) through various deities and acts — and thereby too they worship only Me, the all-souled one (sarvātman), through their respective knowledge-sacrifices.
divergence: Madhusūdana's bhāṣya (present in payload): उत्तमाः — ekatva = upāsya-upāsaka-abheda-cintā (non-difference of worshipped and worshipper); मध्यमाः — pṛthaktva = pratīka-upāsanā citing Chāndogya 'ādityo brahmety ādeśaḥ'; मन्दाः — bahudhā through other deities or actions. Explicit three-tier hierarchy with upward movement (uttarottarāṇāṃ kramena pūrva-pūrva-bhūmi-lābhaḥ).