Bhagavad-Gita: Chapter 9, Verse 25

Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Visnuswami

Sridhara Swami's Commentary

Now Lord Krishna explains the destinations of worship according to the desires of the particular worshippers. Those who worship the demigods like Indra the raingod and Surya the sungod go to Swargaloka the heavenly planets. Those who perform sraddha or worship of the manes or ancestors go to Pitriloka the planet of the forefathers. Those who worship the spirits and the female demigods go to the realm of the spirit. But the devotees of the Supreme Lord Krishna or any of His authorised incarnations and expansions as revealed in Vedic scriptures attain Him and the eternal spiritual worlds never to be born again.

Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Madhvacarya

Madhvacarya's Commentary

Lord Krishna explains the results of worship according to the choice of the worshipper. It is up to each human being to exercise their gift of free will and use their discrimination. Since the Supreme Lord is the ultimate goal of all worship, His propitiation is encouraged by the result of attaining Him.

Sri Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Ramanuja

Ramanuja's Commentary

The word vrata means sacred resolve and undertaking. Those whose resolve and willingness to perform ceremonies to the demigods such as darsa purnamasa for the full moon etc. desiring entry in the heavenly planets worship Indra the celestial chief and join him there. Those who determine to offer profuse ritualistic ablations in honor of the ancestors go to Pitriloka the realm of the ancestors. Those who undertake to worship demons, ghosts and spirits go to the realms of the respective elemental spirits of those invoked. But those who with devotion judiciously offer all propitiation and worship to the Supreme Lord Krishna who exists inside as paramatma the supreme soul and whose transcendental body comprises all of the demigods attains the Supreme Lord eternally. The votaries of the demigods share the joys of the heavenly kingdoms for an allotted time and then they fall down but those who direct their rituals, ceremonies and worship to the Supreme Lord. Who is without beginning, without end. Who is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent and infallible. Who is a vast ocean of multitudinous attributes and infinite glories. Who is measureless bliss personified and from whom once attaining there is no return to the worlds of mortals. Next will be given another distinguishing characteristic of Lord Krishna's devotees.

Kumara Vaisnava Sampradaya:

Nimbaditya

Kesava Kasmiri's Commentary

The question may arise that since the votaries of the demigods fall continuously back into samsara the cycle of birth and death then why did Lord Krishna advocate the worship of the demigods as He did in earlier in chapter 3, verses 10 and 11. In this regard it should be clarified that Lord Krishna did not state that worship of the demigods has no value at all but that worship of the demigods has no permanent value as the demigods themselves are not eternal. But it should be understood that one receives the merit and reward in accordance to what their object of worship is qualified to bestow. The adorers and worshippers of the Supreme Lord have a preponderance of sattva guna the mode of goodness. The propitiators of ceremonies for the ancestors have a preponderance of raja guna or the mode of passion and the ritualistic panderers of the demons, ghosts and spirits have a preponderance of tama guna or the mode of ignorance. All these worshippers if successful in their propitiation are bequeathed with the rewards sought after by their respective object of worship achieving their realm, in close proximity and association sharing all the delights offered there until one has exhausted their merit where they fall back into samsara. But the devotees of the Supreme Lord Krishna having an extreme preponderance of bhakti or loving devotion are endowed with pious virtues possessing all good qualities and as such they attain the Supreme Lord Himself, Lord of lords, God of gods who is beyond birth and death. Full of innumerable transcendental qualities and attributes like eternal existence, infinite knowledge and immeasurable bliss. The purport is that Lord Krishna's devotees knowing Him to be the are endowed with a nature exclusively devoted to Him are untouched by actions of duality and ignorance and are totally different from the devotees of other gods.