Chapter IX · Śloka 3
अश्रद्दधानाः पुरुषा धर्मस्यास्य परन्तप ।
अप्राप्य मां निवर्तन्ते मृत्युसंसारवर्त्मनि ॥
अप्राप्य मां निवर्तन्ते मृत्युसंसारवर्त्मनि ॥
aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā dharmasyāsya parantapa |
aprāpya māṃ nivartante mṛtyu-saṃsāra-vartmani ||
aprāpya māṃ nivartante mṛtyu-saṃsāra-vartmani ||
Those without faith in this dharma, O scorcher of foes, return without attaining Me, revolving on the path of death and rebirth.
Śraddhā — trusting faith — is the single prerequisite. Without it the teaching cannot take root, and the cycle of mortality continues unchecked.