Bhagavad Gita BG 15.4
Chapter 15, Verse 4 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः । तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी ॥
tatah padam tat-parimargitavyam yasmin gata na nivartanti bhuyah tam eva cadyam purusham prapadye yatah pravrttih prasrta purani
Meaning
Then one should seek that place from which, having gone, one does not return again — taking refuge in that Primal Person from whom the ancient creation flowed.
Understanding
After cutting the tree (v3), the seeker must tatah (then) parimargitavyam (diligently seek) the pada (place/goal) where na nivartanti bhuyah (one does not return again). This is moksha — liberation. The method: tam evadyam purusham prapadye (I take refuge in that Primal/Original Person — the Adi-Purusha). Yatah pravrttih prasrta purani (from whom the ancient creation flowed — who is the source of the primordial becoming). The grammar is crucial: the seeker should say 'prapadye' (I take refuge) — this is saranagati (surrender) to the primordial source. The path out of samsara is not just cutting (asanga) but also finding: seeking the Supreme Abode and surrendering to the Primal Person who is its source.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| परिमार्गितव्यम् | parimargitavyam | should be sought, must be searched for (gerundive — obligation) |
| पदम् | padam | place, goal, abode, state (the destination of liberation) |
| प्रपद्ये | prapadye | I take refuge, I surrender (to) — saranagati |
| आद्यम् | adyam | the original, the primal, the first |
| पुराणी | purani | ancient, primordial, from of old |
| ततः | tataḥ | then, thereafter |
| पदम् | padam tat | that place |
| परिमार्गितव्यम् | parimārgitavyam | is to be sought |
| यस्मिन् | yasmin | in which |
| गताः | gatāḥ | having gone |
| न | na nivartanti | do not return |
| भूयः | bhūyaḥ | again |
| तम् | tam eva ca | that very one |
| आद्यम् | ādyam | the original, the primeval |
| पुरुषम् | puruṣam | the Person |
| यतः | yataḥ | from whom |
| प्रवृत्तिः | pravṛttiḥ | activity, the flow |
| प्रसृता | prasṛtā | has streamed forth |
| पुराणी | purāṇī | ancient |
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