Chapter VII · Śloka 23
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम् ।
देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि ॥
देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि ॥
antavat tu phalaṃ teṣāṃ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām |
devān deva-yajo yānti mad-bhaktā yānti mām api ||
devān deva-yajo yānti mad-bhaktā yānti mām api ||
But the fruit of those of small understanding is finite. The worshippers of the gods go to the gods; My devotees come to Me.
The contrast is stark: worship of finite deities yields finite results (antavat — having an end), whereas devotion to the infinite yields the infinite. The word alpa-medhasām (those of small intelligence) is not contempt but a precise diagnosis — they have not yet discerned the difference between the conditional and the absolute.