Bhagavad Gita — Akshara Brahma Yoga, Shloka 16
Akshara Brahma Yoga
आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन । मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ॥ ८.१६ ॥
ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar-āvartino ’rjuna | mām upetya tu kaunteya punar-janma na vidyate || 8.16 ||
O Arjuna, all worlds up to the realm of Brahmā are subject to return; but, O son of Kuntī, having attained Me, there is no rebirth.
हे अर्जुन! ब्रह्मलोक तक के सब लोक पुनरावर्तिरूप हैं; परन्तु हे कौन्तेय! मुझे प्राप्त होकर फिर जन्म नहीं होता।
All worlds up to Brahmā’s realm are subject to return, O Arjuna; but having reached me, O Kaunteya, there is no rebirth.
यहाँ ‘ब्रह्मलोक’ को सृष्टिकर्ता ब्रह्मा का लोक (cosmological hierarchy) मानने की परंपरा प्रबल है; कुछ दार्शनिक पाठ इसे उच्चतम सापेक्ष अवस्था (still within saṁsāra) के रूप में लेते हैं, जिससे ‘मामुपेत्य’ को उससे परे परम-स्थिति बताया जाता है।
FAQs
Suggests that even peak experiences are transient; lasting freedom requires a deeper transformation than attaining ‘higher states’.
Places all cosmological realms within cyclic time; liberation is defined as beyond return.
Clarifies the superiority of the ‘supreme destination’ over any exalted but finite realm.
Encourages not mistaking status, pleasure, or altered states for final fulfillment.