Within the Gita’s vision, devotion (bhakti) and surrender (śaraṇāgati) stand at the heart of the journey to liberation. Bhakti is not merely ritual or sentiment, but a sustained, loving orientation of the whole being toward Krishna, in which thought, feeling, and action are offered to the Divine. Such devotion is described as a primary yoga, accessible to all, regardless of learning or status, and capable of leading even those of “bad conduct” to righteousness and liberation. By constantly remembering Krishna and dedicating all activities to Him, the devotee allows love to purify the heart and mind, making them receptive to divine grace. In this way, bhakti gathers up the energies of knowledge and action into a single, integrated movement toward the Supreme.

Śaraṇāgati, complete surrender to Krishna, is presented as the culmination of this devotional path. After expounding various duties and disciplines, Krishna calls for the abandonment of all other supports and the taking of refuge in Him alone, promising freedom from sin and fear. This surrender is not passivity but a radical inner reorientation: the ego’s claim to independent doership is relinquished, and all deeds are consciously offered to the Divine. As the sense of “I am the doer” loosens, karmic bondage is dissolved, and action ceases to generate further entanglement. In this surrendered state, Krishna is said to “carry what they lack and preserve what they have,” directly guiding and protecting the devotee.

Taken together, devotion and surrender form a comprehensive path in which love, trust, and self-offering replace anxiety, self-assertion, and calculation. They establish a living relationship with Krishna that transcends mere intellectual understanding, allowing liberation to arise through grace as much as through effort. Even those who struggle with austere knowledge or perfectly desireless action are assured a way forward through wholehearted bhakti and śaraṇāgati. Thus, duty, when suffused with devotion and crowned by surrender, becomes a means of inner freedom, leading the soul beyond sorrow and rebirth into union with the Divine.