Within the Kularnava Tantra, devotion is presented as a central and indispensable dimension of the path, not as a secondary or merely emotional adjunct. Bhakti is described as a prerequisite for authentic practice, a quality that distinguishes a true sādhaka from one who is only a ritualist. Before higher tantric disciplines such as mantra, initiation, and esoteric ritual can bear fruit, there must be a deep devotional orientation toward the guru and the divine. The text consistently warns that practices undertaken without this devotional foundation are ineffective, spiritually barren, or even harmful. In this way, bhakti becomes the inner qualification that renders the aspirant fit for the Kula path.

This devotion is directed especially toward the guru and the Divine Mother (Śakti) in her various forms. Guru-bhakti is treated as paramount: the guru is revered as the living embodiment of the deity and as the gateway to initiation and understanding of subtle teachings. Surrender, service, and reverence toward the guru are portrayed as supremely liberating, sometimes even surpassing scriptural learning or austerities. Likewise, devotion to Śakti serves both as a mode of worship and as a means of purification, softening the ego and refining the practitioner’s inner life in preparation for more advanced work.

Bhakti also functions as the animating spirit of ritual. External rites—whether pūjā, mantra-japa, homa, or more complex tantric ceremonies—are said to yield real transformation only when infused with heartfelt devotion. The text criticizes “dry” or mechanical observance, insisting that a single act performed with intense devotional feeling surpasses numerous rituals done without inner engagement. In this sense, devotion is not an alternative to ritual but its life-force, integrating emotional surrender with formal practice so that the outer act and inner attitude support one another.

Finally, devotion is portrayed as a vehicle for the realization of non-dual consciousness. Through loving worship, the practitioner initially relates to the deity and the guru as distinct and “other,” yet this very relationship gradually matures into the recognition that the deity, the guru, and the innermost Self are one. Bhakti thus purifies and dissolves ego-boundaries, allowing non-dual insight to become stable and lived rather than merely conceptual. Far from being opposed to non-duality, devotion in the Kularnava Tantra is the very bridge by which dualistic worship is transformed into the direct experience of the indivisible reality.