Śrimad Bhagavad Gīta | Chapter 8
ŚRIMAD BHAGAVAD GĪTA
CHAPTER 8
THE WAY TO THE SUPREME SPIRIT
CHAPTERS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Those whose mind is fixed on Sri Krishna alone know the
Brahman, action, Adhibhuta, etc. – the Brahman, action, etc.,
mentioned thus (in the last chapter) are clearly explained in the eighth (chapter).
अथ अष्टमोऽध्यायः । अक्षरब्रह्मयोगः
atha aṣṭamo' dhyāyaḥ | akṣarabrahmayogaḥ
Thus the Eighth Chapter |
The Path to the Supreme Spirit
अर्जुन उवाच ।
किं तद् ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम ।
अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते ॥ ८- १ ॥
arjuna uvāca:
kiṃ tad brahma kimadhyātmaṃ kiṃ karma puruṣottama |
adhibhūtaṃ ca kiṃ proktamadhidaivaṃ kimucyate ||
Arjuna said:
What is that Brahman, what is Adhyātma, and what is
action, O best of men? What is called Adhibhuta and what
is said to be the Adhidaiva?
अधियज्ञः कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन्मधुसूदन ।
प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभिः ॥ ८- २ ॥
adhiyajñaḥ kathaṃ ko'tra dehe'sminmadhusūdana |
prayāṇakāle ca kathaṃ jñeyo'si niyatātmabhiḥ ||
Who and how is the Adhiyajna in this body, O slayer of
Madhu (Sri Krishna)? And how are You known at the time
of death by the self restrained?
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते ।
भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसंज्ञितः ॥ ८- ३ ॥
śrībhagavānuvāca:
akṣaraṃ brahma paramaṃ svabhāvo'dhyātmamucyate |
bhūtabhāvodbhavakaro visargaḥ karmasaṃjñitaḥ ||
The Blessed Lord said:
The highest imperishable principle is Brahman. Its
existence as the embodied soul is called Adhyātma, and the
offering (into the sacrifice fire) which causes the origin
and development of beings is called action.
अधिभूतं क्षरो भावः पुरुषश्चाधिदैवतम् ।
अधियज्ञोऽहमेवात्र देहे देहभृतां वर ॥ ८- ४ ॥
adhibhūtaṃ kṣaro bhāvaḥ puruṣaścādhidaivatam |
adhiyajño'hamevātra dehe dehabhṛtāṃ vara ||
Perishable entities are called Adhibhuta, the cosmic Being
is called Adhidaiva, and I myself am called the Adhiyajna
in this body, O best of embodied beings.
अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम् ।
यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः ॥ ८- ५ ॥
antakāle ca māmeva smaranmuktvā kalevaram |
yaḥ prayāti sa madbhāvaṃ yāti nāstyatra saṃśayaḥ ||
He who at the time of death remembers Me alone and
passes out, leaving the body, attains My being- there is
no doubt about this.
यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् ।
तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः ॥ ८- ६ ॥
yaṃ yaṃ vā'pi smaranbhāvaṃ tyajatyante kalevaram |
taṃ tamevaiti kaunteya sadā tadbhāvabhāvitaḥ ||
Thinking of whatever object at the time of death a person
leaves the body, he attains, O son of Kunti, that very
object, being constantly absorbed in its thought.
तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च ।
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयः ॥ ८- ७ ॥
tasmātsarveṣu kāleṣu māmanusmara yudhya ca |
mayyarpitamanobuddhirmāmevaiṣyasyasaṃśayaḥ ||
Therefore, remember Me at all times and fight; with your
mind and intellect devoted to Me, shall attain Me alone –
there is no doubt about this.
अभ्यासयोगयुक्तेन चेतसा नान्यगामिना ।
परमं पुरुषं दिव्यं याति पार्थानुचिन्तयन् ॥ ८- ८ ॥
abhyāsayogayuktena cetasā nānyagāminā |
paramaṃ puruṣaṃ divyaṃ yāti pārthānucintayan ||
With a mind that has taken to the way of constant practice
and does not stray to anything else, one who thinks of the
supreme divine Being, attains Him, O Pārtha.
कविं पुराणमनुशासितार-
मणोरणीयंसमनुस्मरेद्यः ।
सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूप-
मादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् ॥ ८- ९ ॥
प्रयाणकाले मनसाऽचलेन
भक्त्या युक्तो योगबलेन चैव ।
भ्रुवोर्मध्ये प्राणमावेश्य सम्यक्
स तं परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम् ॥ ८- १० ॥
kaviṃ purāṇamanuśāsitāraṃ
aṇoraṇīyaṃsamanusmaredyaḥ |
sarvasya dhātāramacintyarūpaṃ
ādityavarṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastāt ||
prayāṇakāle manasā'calena
bhaktyā yukto yogabalena caiva |
bhruvormadhye prāṇamāveśya samyak
sa taṃ paraṃ puruṣamupaiti divyam ||
He who, endowed with devotion, meditates at the
time of death with a steady mind, having by the power of
Yoga properly fixed the life-breath in between the
eyebrows, on the Being who is wise, ancient, the
ruler, smaller than the smallest, the sustainer of all, of
inconceivable form, resplendent like the sun and beyond
ignorance- he attains the shining supreme Being.
यदक्षरं वेदविदो वदन्ति
विशन्ति यद्यतयो वीतरागाः ।
यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति
तत्ते पदं संग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये ॥ ८- ११ ॥
yadakṣaraṃ vedavido vadanti
viśanti yadyatayo vītarāgāḥ |
yadicchanto brahmacaryaṃ caranti
tatte padaṃ saṃgraheṇa pravakṣye ||
That imperishable Principle which the knowers of the
Vedas describe, into which aspirants bereft of all desires
enter, desiring which one lives the abstinent life of a
student-that goal I shall tell you in brief.
सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च ।
मूध्न्यार्धायात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम् ॥ ८- १२ ॥
ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् ।
यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम् ॥ ८- १३ ॥
sarvadvārāṇi saṃyamya mano hṛdi nirudhya ca |
mūrdhnyādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇamāsthito yogadhāraṇām ||
omityekākṣaraṃ brahma vyāharanmāmanusmaran |
yaḥ prayāti tyajandehaṃ sa yāti paramāṃ gatim ||
Controlling all the inlets (organs), confining the
mind to the heart, fixing the life-breath in the head, betaking
himself to absorption in Yoga, repeating the monosyllable Om,
which is Brahman and thinking of Me, he who
departs leaving body, attains the highest Goal.
अनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः ।
तस्याहं सुलभः पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिनः ॥ ८- १४ ॥
ananyacetāḥ satataṃ yo māṃ smarati nityaśaḥ |
tasyāhaṃ sulabhaḥ pārtha nityayuktasya yoginaḥ ||
To the ever-restrained Yogi who constantly remembers Me
every day with his mind on nothing else, O Pārtha. I am
easily accessible.
मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दुःखालयमशाश्वतम् ।
नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मानः संसिद्धिं परमां गताः ॥ ८- १५ ॥
māmupetya punarjanma duḥkhālayamaśāśvatam |
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṃsiddhiṃ paramāṃ gatāḥ ||
The great- souled ones having attained Me, have no more
birth, which is the abode of misery and non-eternal, for
they have attained the highest perfection.
आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन ।
मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ॥ ८- १६ ॥
ābrahmabhuvanāllokāḥ punarāvartino'rjuna |
māmupetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate ||
All the worlds, O Arjuna, including the world of Brahmā
are subject to recurrence, but after attaining Me there is no
rebirth, O son of Kunti.
सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद् ब्रह्मणो विदुः ।
रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः ॥ ८- १७ ॥
sahasrayugaparyantamaharyad brahmaṇo viduḥ |
rātriṃ yugasahasrāntāṃ te'horātravido janāḥ ||
Those who know Brahmā’s day that lasts for a thousand
Yugas and his night that lasts for a thousand Yugas, are
knowers of day and night.
अव्यक्ताद् व्यक्तयः सर्वाः प्रभवन्त्यहरागमे ।
रात्र्यागमे प्रलीयन्ते तत्रैवाव्यक्तसंज्ञके ॥ ८- १८ ॥
avyaktād vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ prabhavantyaharāgame |
rātryāgame pralīyante tatraivāvyaktasaṃjñake ||
From the Unmanifest all manifested things are born at the
advent of (Brahmā’s) day, and at the approach of (his) night
they get merged in that very thing called the Unmanifest.
भूतग्रामः स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते ।
रात्र्यागमेऽवशः पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे ॥ ८- १९ ॥
bhūtagrāmaḥ sa evāyaṃ bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate |
rātryāgame'vaśaḥ pārtha prabhavatyaharāgame ||
That very multitude of beings, being born again and again
is absorbed at the approach of night, O Pārtha, and at the
approach of day is born again in spite of itself.
परस्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्योऽव्यक्तोऽव्यक्तात्सनातनः ।
यः स सर्वेषु भूतेषु नश्यत्सु न विनश्यति ॥ ८- २० ॥
parastasmāttu bhāvo'nyo'vyakto'vyaktātsanātanaḥ |
yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati ||
Beyond this Unmanifest there is another unmanifest eternal
Being that does not perish when all creatures perish.
अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम् ।
यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥ ८- २१ ॥
avyakto'kṣara ityuktastamāhuḥ paramāṃ gatim |
yaṃ prāpya na nivartante taddhāma paramaṃ mama ||
That Unmanifest which is called the Imperishable is said to
be the supreme Goal, attaining which they return not; that
is My supreme abode (state).
पुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया ।
यस्यान्तःस्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ॥ ८- २२ ॥
puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha bhaktyā labhyastvananyayā |
yasyāntaḥsthāni bhūtāni yena sarvamidaṃ tatam ||
That supreme Being, O Pārtha, in whom are all beings and by
whom all this is pervaded, is attainable by one-pointed devotion.
यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिनः ।
प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ ॥ ८- २३ ॥
yatra kāle tvanāvṛttimāvṛttiṃ caiva yoginaḥ |
prayātā yānti taṃ kālaṃ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha ||
The time at which departing (from hence) the Yogis attain
non-return or return- that time, O best of Bharatas, I shall tell you.
अग्निर्ज्योतिरहः शुक्लः षण्मासा उत्तरायणम् ।
तत्र प्रयाता गच्छन्ति ब्रह्म ब्रह्मविदो जनाः ॥ ८- २४ ॥
agnirjotirahaḥ śuklaḥ ṣaṇmāsā uttarāyaṇam |
tatra prayātā gacchanti brahma brahmavido janāḥ ||
Fire, the flame, the day, the bright half of the month and
the six months of the sun’s northern course-departing by
this path the knowers of Brahman attain Brahman.
धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्णः षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम् ।
तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते ॥ ८- २५ ॥
dhūmo rātristathā kṛṣṇaḥ ṣaṇmāsā dakṣiṇāyanam |
tatra cāndramasaṃ jyotiryogī prāpya nivartate ||
Smoke, the night, the dark half of the month, and the six
months of the sun’s southern passage-departing by this
path the Yogi attains the lunar sphere and returns (thence).
शुक्लकृष्णे गती ह्येते जगतः शाश्वते मते ।
एकया यात्यनावृत्तिमन्ययावर्तते पुनः ॥ ८- २६ ॥
śuklakṛṣṇe gatī hyete jagataḥ śāśvate mate |
ekayā yātyanāvṛttimanyayāvartate punaḥ ||
These two paths of the world, the bright and the dark, are
considered to be eternal; by one, one returns not, and by
the other, one returns.
नैते सृती पार्थ जानन्योगी मुह्यति कश्चन ।
तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु योगयुक्तो भवार्जुन ॥ ८- २७ ॥
naite sṛtī pārtha jānanyogī muhyati kaścana |
tasmātsarveṣu kāleṣu yogayukto bhavārjuna ||
Knowing these paths, O Pārtha, no Yogi is deluded;
therefore at all times O Arjuna, be endowed with Yoga.
वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तपःसु चैव
दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम् ।
अत्येति तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा
योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम् ॥ ८- २८ ॥
vedeṣu yajñeṣu tapaḥsu caiva
dāneṣu yatpuṇyaphalaṃ pradiṣṭam |
atyeti tatsarvamidaṃ viditvā
yogī paraṃ sthānamupaiti cādyam ||
Whatever good result is declared regarding the Vedas,
sacrifices, asceticism and gifts-all that the Yogi who
knows the above transcends and attains the primeval
supreme Abode.
In this eighth chapter is explicitly declared an easy attainment,
by the eighth path, of the desired abode through the ascertainment
of the meanings of eight specially desired questions.
ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सु
ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादे
अक्षरब्रह्मयोगो नामाष्टमोऽध्यायः ॥ ८ ॥
OM tatsaditi śrīmad bhagavadgītāsūpaniṣatsu
brahmavidyāyāṃ yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjunasaṃvāde
akṣarabrahmayogo nāmāṣṭamo'dhyāyaḥ