Devanagari
सर्व एव यजन्ति त्वां सर्वदेवमयेश्वरम् ।
येऽप्यन्यदेवताभक्ता यद्यप्यन्यधिय: प्रभो ॥ ९ ॥
Verse text
sarva eva yajanti tvāṁ
sarva-deva-mayeśvaram
ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā
yady apy anya-dhiyaḥ prabho
Synonyms
sarve
—
all
;
eva
—
indeed
;
yajanti
—
worship
;
tvam
—
You
;
sarva
—
deva — all the demigods
;
maya
—
O You who comprise
;
īśvaram
—
the Supreme Lord
;
ye
—
they
;
api
—
even
;
anya
—
of other
;
devatā
—
deities
;
bhaktāḥ
—
devotees
;
yadi api
—
although
;
anya
—
turned elsewhere
;
dhiyaḥ
—
their attention
;
prabho
—
O master .
Translation
But all these people, my Lord, even those who have turned their attention away from You and are worshiping other deities, are actually worshiping You alone, O embodiment of all the demigods.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
But all these people, my Lord, even those who have turned their attention away from You and are worshiping other deities, are actually worshiping You alone, O embodiment of all the demigods.
KB 10.40.9
It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that worship of demigods is also indirectly worship of the Supreme Lord. But such worship is not orthodox, because the worshipable Lord is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa. Demigods such as Brahmā and Śiva are incarnations of the material qualities, which are also emanations from the body of Nārāyaṇa. Actually, there was no one existing before the creation except Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The worship of a demigod is not on the same level as worship of Nārāyaṇa.
Akrūra said, “Although the minds of those who are devotees of the demigods are fixed on a particular demigod, because You are the Supersoul of all living entities, including the demigods, worship of the demigods indirectly goes to You.
Purport
The idea here is that even those who worship the demigods are indirectly worshiping the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu. The understanding of such worshipers, however, is imperfect.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
All these different types of worshippers actually worship you. How is this? This is because you are the supersoul within all of them and possess all their qualities.
"But when asked they will say that they are worshipping Siva, Surya etc."
"Those who worship the devatas worship you as the supersoul in all the devatas, even though that is not the correct way of worshipping you."
"But if that is so, then how am I being worshipped? They never meditate on me."
"Though they meditate on the devatas , not you, the are still worshipping you."
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Why have all these various types of worship been mentioned? This verse answers. Śrīdhara Svāmī says that the word anya indicates inferior devatās. Sometimes nana-devatā-bhaktā is seen. This refers to devatās like Indra. Even though these worshippers do not concentrate their minds on you, they all ultimately worship you, since you are the antaryāmī (īśvara) of all the devatās who act as your residence. The worship of these abodes ultimately means worshipping the deity within the abode. But this worship gives no real result since the devatās are not independent.
ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ |
te ’pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam ||
Those who are devoted to the devatās and with faith worship them--they also worship me, but by the wrong method, O son of Kuntī.
ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca |
na tu mām abhijānanti tattvenātaś cyavanti te ||
I am the enjoyer and master of all sacrifices. Those who do not know me in truth fall down.
yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ |
bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti mad-yājino 'pi mām ||
The worshippers of the devatās go to the devatās, and the worshippers of the Pitṛs go to the Pitṛs. The worshippers of ghosts go to the ghosts, and worshippers of me go to me. BG 9.23-25
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
These persons who worship insignificant devatās actually worship you. The reason is given. O you are all the devatās (sarva-deva-maya). You are the Lord (īśvaram), the master of all devatās. When the servant serves the master, service is accomplished. Or they worship you, the Lord, who is all devatās. You are different from Brahmā and others. Though he may be their controller, he is not all the devatās. O master (prabho)! You are endowed with all powers.
Six types of worship have been described. Among them, first there are three types: yoga, karma and jñāna. According to dīkṣa there are three types: vaiṣṇava, śaiva and kṣaudras (minor devatās).
Or many jīvas worship you in different forms, since they do not know your own form. That is described in five verses. But by your power, even their worship ends in bhakti to you. That is described in the present verse. There are worshippers of various devatās (bhaktāḥ). Or what should be said? The different types of worship end in worship of you. Even the worship of insignificant devatās ends in you.