Bhagavad Gita BG 8.15
Chapter 8, Verse 15 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दुःखालयमशाश्वतम् । नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मानः संसिद्धिं परमां गताः ॥
mam upetya punar janma duhkhalayam ashashvatam napnuvanti mahatmanah samsiddhim paramam gatah
Meaning
Having reached Me, the great souls (mahatmanah) do not obtain rebirth into this impermanent abode of sorrow — they have reached the highest perfection.
Understanding
The fruit of reaching Krishna declared absolutely: mam upetya (having reached Me) — punar janma napnuvanti (rebirth is not obtained). The world is characterized in two devastating words: duhkhalaya (abode of sorrow — duhkha = suffering, alaya = dwelling/home) and ashashvata (impermanent, not-eternal). The world is structurally impermanent and structured around suffering. The mahatmanah (great-souled ones) who have reached samsiddhi paramam (the highest perfection/completion) are freed from return to this. This verse is the Gita's most concise statement of what liberation means: no rebirth into this sorrow-field.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| मामुपेत्य | mam upetya | having reached Me, having attained Me |
| दुःखालयम् | duhkhalayam | the abode of sorrow (duhkha = sorrow, alaya = dwelling) |
| अशाश्वतम् | ashashvatam | impermanent, not eternal, transient |
| महात्मानः | mahatmanah | great souls, the great-souled ones |
| संसिद्धिम् | samsiddhim | perfection, completion, the highest fulfillment |
| माम् | mām | Me |
| उपेत्य | upetya | having attained, having reached |
| पुनः | punaḥ | again |
| जन्म | janma | birth |
| दुःखालयम् | duḥkhālayam | the abode of misery |
| अशाश्वतम् | aśāśvatam | impermanent, transient |
| न | na | not |
| आप्नुवन्ति | āpnuvanti | they attain, experience |
| महात्मानः | mahātmānaḥ | the great souls |
| संसिद्धिम् | saṃsiddhim | perfection, highest perfection |
| परमाम् | paramām | supreme |
| गताः | gatāḥ | having attained, having gone to |
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