Bhagavad Gita BG 6.21
Chapter 6, Verse 21 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
सुखमात्यन्तिकं यत्तद् बुद्धिग्राह्यमतीन्द्रियम् । वेत्ति यत्र न चैवायं स्थितश्चलति तत्त्वतः ॥
sukham Atyantikam yat tad buddhi-grahyam atindriyam vetti yatra na caivayam sthitas calati tattvatah
Meaning
That absolute happiness — which is grasped by the intellect and beyond the senses — once knowing it there, one does not move from the truth.
Understanding
The sukham of samadhi is atyantikam (absolute, beyond limit) — not an intensification of sense-pleasure but a different order. Buddhi-grahyam (grasped by the intellect, not the senses — buddhih here means the deepest discriminating faculty). Atindriyam (beyond the senses — transcending sensory experience). When one vetti (knows, experiences) this — yatra (there) — na calati tattvatah — one does not move from the truth. The knowing is stabilizing. Having tasted this absolute joy, one doesn't get pulled back into the chase for sense-pleasure.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| आत्यन्तिकम् | atyantikam | absolute, limitless, beyond limit |
| बुद्धिग्राह्यम् | buddhi-grahyam | grasped by the intellect (not the senses) |
| अतीन्द्रियम् | atindriyam | beyond the senses, transcending sensory experience |
| वेत्ति | vetti | knows, experiences, recognizes |
| तत्त्वतः | tattvatah | from the truth, from reality (tattvat = from the truth) |
| सुखम् | sukham | happiness / bliss (the infinite bliss) |
| यत् | yat | which / that (happiness) |
| तद् | tad | that (happiness — beyond senses) |
| यत्र | yatra | where / in which (state he knows it) |
| न | na | not / nor (does not deviate from truth) |
| च एव | caiva | and not / nor indeed |
| अयम् | ayam | this (person / the yogi) |
| स्थितः | sthitaḥ | established / abiding |
| चलति | calati | moves away / deviates / strays |