Chapter 8, Verse 16
Akshara Brahma Yoga — Sanskrit shloka, transliteration, word meanings, English translation, and commentary.
Original Sanskrit verse
Transliteration
Word meanings
ā-brahma-bhuvanāt—up to the abode of Brahma; lokāḥ—worlds; punaḥ āvartinaḥ—subject to rebirth; arjuna—Arjun; mām—mine; upetya—having attained; tu—but; kaunteya—Arjun, the son of Kunti; punaḥ janma—rebirth; na—never; vidyate—is
English translation
All the worlds, including the world of Brahma, are subject to return again, O Arjuna; but he who reaches Me, O son of Kunti, has no rebirth.
— Swami Sivananda
Listen to Shloka 8.16
Commentary
Those devotees who practise Daharopasana (a kind of meditation on the mystic space in the heart) and other devotees who reach Brahmaloka through the path of the gods (Devayana) and attain gradual liberation (KramaMukti) will not return again to this world. But those who reach Brahmaloka through the practice of the Panchagni Vidya (a ritual) will enjoy life in Brahmaloka and come back to this world. All the worlds are subjected to return because they are limited or conditioned by time.
Commentary by Swami Sivananda
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