Bhagavad Gita · Gunatraya Vibhaga YogaChapter 14, Shloka 26 (14.26)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते
स गुणान् समतीत्यैतान् ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते
॥ 14.26 ॥
māṃ ca yo'vyabhicāreṇa bhaktiyogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahmabhūyāya kalpate
Translation
"And one who serves Me with the yoga of unwavering (non-wandering) devotion, fully going beyond these gunas, becomes fit for the state of Brahman."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. māṃ ca īśvaraṃ nārāyaṇaṃ sarvabhūtahṛdayāśritaṃ yo yatiḥ karmī vā — of Narayana, who dwells in the hearts of all beings — whether one is a renunciate or a person of action — avyabhicāreṇa na kadācid yo vyabhicarati bhaktiyogena — with a yoga of devotion that never wavers.
Acharya Ramanuja — why devotion? nānyaṃ guṇebhyaḥ kartāram … prakṛtyātmavivekānusaṃdhānamātreṇa na guṇātyayaḥ saṃpatsyate, tasya anādikālapravṛttaviparītavāsanābādhyatvasaṃbhavāt — the gunas will not be overcome by discernment between prakriti and the self alone, because contrary tendencies (vasanas) running from beginningless time may obstruct it; therefore māṃ satyasaṃkalpaṃ paramakāruṇikam — devotion to the Lord, whose will is always true and who is supremely compassionate.
Shridhara Swami. ca-śabdo 'vadhāraṇārthaḥ — "cha" here has the sense of "alone": mām eva … avyabhicāreṇaikāntabhaktiyogena — Me alone, with the yoga of single-minded devotion.
Madhusudana Saraswati. Unwavering devotion = paramapremalakṣaṇena bhaktiyogena dvādaśādhyāyoktena — of the nature of supreme love, as described in chapter 12; and the conclusion: sarvadā bhagavaccintanam eva guṇātītatvopāya — constant remembrance of the Lord is itself the means of going beyond the gunas.
Madhvacharya. His own reading of "brahmabhuya": bhagavatpriyatvaṃ brahmabhūyam — being dear to the Lord; na tu tāvatpriyatvaṃ kintu priyatvamātram — not to the same degree (as Lakshmi), simply being dear.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.