Bhagavad Gita · Raja Vidya Raja Guhya YogaChapter 9, Shloka 22 (9.22)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम्
॥ 9.22 ॥
ananyāścintayanto māṃ ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣāṃ nityābhiyuktānāṃ yogakṣemaṃ vahāmyaham
Translation
"Those who, thinking of me with undivided feeling, worship me in every way — for them, ever absorbed in me, I myself carry their yoga-kshema."
Interpretation
"Yoga-kṣema": yoga = obtaining what one does not have; kṣema = protecting what one has.
Shankaracharya — the renunciate sage. ananyāḥ apṛthag-bhūtāḥ paraṃ devaṃ nārāyaṇam ātmatvena gatāḥ santaḥ — those who, knowing the supreme God Narayana as their own self, do not remain apart from him; yogaḥ aprāptasya prāpaṇaṃ kṣemaḥ tad-rakṣaṇam; a question: does the Lord not carry the yoga-kshema of other devotees? — satyaṃ vahaty eva kiṃ tu ayaṃ viśeṣaḥ … anye ye bhaktāḥ te ātmārthaṃ svayam api yoga-kṣemam īhante ananya-darśinas tu na ātmārthaṃ yoga-kṣemam īhante na hi te jīvite maraṇe vā ātmanaḥ gṛddhiṃ kurvanti kevalam eva bhagavac-charaṇāḥ te — he does carry it, but the difference is this: other devotees also strive for their own yoga-kshema; those who see nothing else have no craving for themselves, in life or in death, and simply take refuge in the Lord — so it is the Lord himself who carries their yoga-kshema.
Acharya Ramanuja — the spiritual meaning of yoga-kshema. Ananyāḥ ananya-prayojanāḥ mac-cintanena vinā ātma-dhāraṇālābhāt — those who cannot survive without thinking of me; sarva-kalyāṇa-guṇānvitaṃ sarva-vibhūti-yuktaṃ māṃ paritaḥ upāsate — who worship me on every side, with all my qualities and glories; teṣāṃ … ahaṃ mat-prāpti-lakṣaṇaṃ yogam apunarāvṛtti-rūpaṃ kṣemaṃ ca vahāmi — yoga = attaining me, kshema = not returning — this I carry.
The difference: Shankara — yoga-kshema of every kind (for the wise one who has taken refuge); Ramanuja — yoga = attaining the Lord, kshema = no return (spiritual).
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.