Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8, Verse 21

Chapter 8 – Akshara Brahma Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम् ।
यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥

Transliteration

avyakto.akṣara ityuktastamāhuḥ paramāṃ gatim .
yaṃ prāpya na nivartante taddhāma paramaṃ mama ॥

Meaning

That which is called the unmanifest and imperishable, they declare to be the supreme goal; attaining which one does not return, that is My supreme abode.

Word meanings

अव्यक्तः – unmanifest
अक्षरः – imperishable
इति उक्तः – thus described
तम् – him, that
आहुः – they call
परमाम् गतिम् – the supreme goal
यम् प्राप्य – attaining which
न निवर्तन्ते – they do not return
तत् – that
मम – My
परमम् धाम – supreme abode

Anvaya (word order)

अव्यक्तः अक्षरः इति उक्तः; तं परमां गतिम् आहुः; यं प्राप्य (जनाः) न निवर्तन्ते, तत् मम परमं धाम ।

Explanation

In the previous verse the Lord introduced an eternal reality beyond the unmanifest. Here he gives it three names and clarifies his own relation to it. It is avyakta, beyond senses and mind; akshara, never decaying; and it is the parama gati, the final goal of all disciplines.

Next comes its mark: yam prapya na nivartante, reaching which none returns. From the beginning of the chapter to here, the Lord has set non-return against return. At the end he says, taddhama paramam mama, that is My supreme abode. This is a weighty statement: the unmanifest imperishable Reality just spoken of is not apart from the Lord, but is his own supreme nature or dwelling.

Here the acharyas differ beautifully. Shankara takes dhama as the Lord's reality or nature, the supreme state of Vishnu, non-different from imperishable Brahman. Ramanuja describes it as the Lord's divine world (Vaikuntha) and his eternal form, where liberated souls dwell in his service. Madhva calls it the Lord's eternal residence. All agree that on reaching it there is no return.

The sense is that the goal is not a far abstract idea; it is the Lord's own being, attainable through love and exclusive devotion, as the next verse will say.

Context

Verse 8.20 introduced the eternal reality beyond the unmanifest. Here it is named Akshara, the supreme goal and the Lord's supreme abode; the next verse (8.22) gives the means: exclusive devotion.

Life lesson

The true goal of life is where wandering ends on arrival. Tie your efforts to that lasting goal, since temporary achievements send us on the journey again in the end.

Key terms

अक्षर: imperishable
परमा गति: the final destination of the soul, liberation
धाम: abode, radiance, state
न निवर्तन्ते: they do not return to samsara