Chapter IX · Śloka 23
येऽप्यन्यदेवता भक्ता यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विताः ।
तेऽपि मामेव कौन्तेय यजन्त्यविधिपूर्वकम् ॥
तेऽपि मामेव कौन्तेय यजन्त्यविधिपूर्वकम् ॥
ye 'py anya-devatā bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ |
te 'pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam ||
te 'pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam ||
Even those who are devotees of other gods, who worship with faith — they too worship Me alone, O son of Kuntī, though not by the proper rule.
All sincere worship, even when directed to lesser deities, ultimately reaches the one supreme source. The misdirection is in method, not in the inner impulse of devotion; Kṛṣṇa receives every genuine offering.