12.1 Arjuna asks which is better Arjuna speaks

एवं सततयुक्ता ये भक्तास्त्वां पर्युपासते
येचाप्यक्षरमव्यक्तं तेषां के योगवित्तमाः

evaṁ satata-yuktā ye bhaktās tvāṁ paryupāsate
ye chāpy akṣharam avyaktaṁ teṣhāṁ ke yoga-vittamāḥ

Those devoted who worship you, steadfast and constant, and those who worship the imperishable and unmanifest — which of them know better?

Explanation

Arjuna asks the question the last chapter forced.

He has just seen the cosmic form and been told to worship a person. So which is it — the God with a face who can be addressed, or the akṣara, the imperishable and unmanifest, that has no face at all?

Note that he does not ask which is true. He asks which of the two kinds of worshipper knows better. It is a question about practice, and that is what gets answered.

Word by word

arjunaḥ uvācha: Arjun said
evam: thus
satata: steadfastly
yuktāḥ: devoted
ye: those
bhaktāḥ: devotees
tvām: you
paryupāsate: worship
ye: those
cha: and
api: also
akṣharam: the imperishable
avyaktam: the formless Brahman
teṣhām: of them
ke: who
yoga-vit-tamāḥ: more perfect in Yog