Bg. 8.21 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहु: परमां गतिम् । यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥ २१ ॥

Verse text

avyakto ’kṣara ity uktas tam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim yaṁ prāpya na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama

Synonyms

avyaktaḥ — unmanifested ; akṣaraḥ — infallible ; iti — thus ; uktaḥ — is said ; tam — that ; āhuḥ — is known ; paramām — the ultimate ; gatim — destination ; yam — which ; prāpya — gaining ; na — never ; nivartante — come back ; tat — that ; dhāma — abode ; paramam — supreme ; mama — My.

Translation

That which the Vedāntists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns – that is My supreme abode.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

21. That which was described as eternal and unmanifest is called the supreme goal. Attaining that eternal form, they do not return.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

21. That which I have described as eternal and unmanifest is called the supreme goal by the followers of Vedānta. Attaining that splendid form of Mine, they do not return.

Purport

The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā as cintāmaṇi-dhāma, a place where all desires are fulfilled. The supreme abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa, known as Goloka Vṛndāvana, is full of palaces made of touchstone. There are also trees, called “desire trees,” that supply any type of eatable upon demand, and there are cows, known as surabhi cows, which supply a limitless supply of milk. In this abode, the Lord is served by hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune (Lakṣmīs), and He is called Govinda, the primal Lord and the cause of all causes. The Lord is accustomed to blow His flute ( veṇuṁ kvaṇantam ). His transcendental form is the most attractive in all the worlds – His eyes are like lotus petals, and the color of His body is like the color of clouds. He is so attractive that His beauty excels that of thousands of Cupids. He wears saffron cloth, a garland around His neck and a peacock feather in His hair. In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa gives only a small hint of His personal abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, which is the supermost planet in the spiritual kingdom. A vivid description is given in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Vedic literatures ( Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.11) state that there is nothing superior to the abode of the Supreme Godhead, and that that abode is the ultimate destination ( puruṣān na paraṁ kiṣcit sā kāṣṭhā paramā gatiḥ ). When one attains to it, he never returns to the material world. Kṛṣṇa’s supreme abode and Kṛṣṇa Himself are nondifferent, being of the same quality. On this earth, Vṛndāvana, ninety miles southeast of Delhi, is a replica of that supreme Goloka Vṛndāvana located in the spiritual sky. When Kṛṣṇa descended on this earth, He sported on that particular tract of land known as Vṛndāvana, comprising about 168 square miles in the district of Mathurā, India.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The word avyakta of the previous verse is explained. That which is avyakta is without destruction (akṣara): Nārāyaṇa. As the śruti says, eko nārāyaṇa āsīn na brahmā na ca śaṅkaraḥ: only Nārāyaṇa existed, and not Brahmā or Śiva. [Note: eko ha vai nārāyaṇa āsīn na brahmā neśāno is found in the Mahā Upaniṣad. The quotation is probably another version of the same passage.] Attaining My eternal form (mama paramaṁ dhāma), they do not return. The word akṣara may also be interpreted as the impersonal Brahman, in which case dhāma paramaṁ mama means “My form of light,” since dhāma also means “light.” [Note: This would be the attainment for jṣānīs and yogīs who also perform a small amount of bhakti without offense.]

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

That object which I call avyakta and akṣaraṁ is called by the knowers of the Veda as the supreme goal. puruṣān na paraṁ kiṁcit sā kāṣṭhā paramā gatiḥ There is nothing superior to this person. He is the highest, supreme goal. Kaṭha Upaniṣad 3.11 Attaining that object people do not take birth again. That object is Myself: My splendid (paramam) svarūpa (dhāma). The use of the possessive (My svarūpa) is similar to saying “Consciousness is the svarūpa of the jīva.” [Note: It does not indicate that the Lord is different from his form.]

Surrender Unto Me

That 'dhama', that place composed of the internal energy of the Lord, has nothing to do with the material modes, that is Krsna's eternal abode. In that place the exchanges (rasa), between Krsna and His devotees are going on eternally. That is what we are looking for. The next verse is a comparison between the material and spiritual worlds. Krsna explains it to awaken within us the desire to get out of here ‑ to go to that eternal place from where we don't come back.