Bhagavad Gita BG 15.6
Chapter 15, Verse 6 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः । यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥
na tad bhasayate suryo na shashango na pavakah yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama
Meaning
That place is not illumined by the sun, nor by the moon, nor by fire. Going there, one does not return. That is My supreme abode.
Understanding
Na tad bhasayate suryah (the sun does not illuminate that place), na shashankah (not the moon), na pavakah (not fire). The supreme abode is self-luminous — it does not depend on any created light source. This is Brahman as svayam-jyoti (self-luminous). Yad gatva na nivartante (going where, one does not return — no more rebirth). Tat dhama paramam mama (that is My supreme abode — param dhama). This verse echoes Ch8.21's description of the avyakta (unmanifest) abode and the param dhama. The teaching: all phenomenal lights (sun, moon, fire) are dependent reflections of a greater light — and that greater light's source is the param dhama. This verse is one of the Gita's most famous — it points to the self-luminous nature of the Divine as distinct from all created light.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| भासयते | bhasayate | illumines, makes shine, lights up |
| शशाङ्कः | shashankah | the moon (literally: marked with a rabbit — shasha+anka) |
| पावकः | pavakah | fire, the purifier (pavaka = purifying) |
| धाम | dhama | abode, dwelling place; also radiance, splendor |
| परमम् | paramam | supreme, highest, ultimate |
| न | na tat | not that |
| भासयते | bhāsayate | illuminates |
| सूर्यः | sūryaḥ | the sun |
| न | na śaśāṅkaḥ | nor the moon |
| न | na pāvakaḥ | nor fire |
| यत् | yad | which |
| गत्वा | gatvā | having gone |
| न | na nivartante | do not return |
| तत् | tad | that |
| धाम | dhāma | the abode |
| मम | mama | My |
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