चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन । आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ ॥
caturvidhā bhajante māṃ janāḥ sukṛtino'rjuna | ārto jijñāsurarthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha ||
Translation
Four kinds of virtuous people worship Me, O Arjuna: the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth, and the wise, O best of the Bharatas.
Interpretation
Those who do surrender to the Divine fall into four types, all described as sukritinah (virtuous people — they are all good, just at different stages). (1) Arta — the distressed, who cry out to God in suffering; (2) Jijnasur — the earnest seeker of spiritual knowledge; (3) Artharthi — the seeker of worldly prosperity, who prays for material needs; (4) Jnani — the wise, who have realized the Divine and worship out of the fullness of realization. All four are valid; all four are welcome. But their depth and orientation differ as Krishna reveals next.