श्रीमद्भगवद्गीताBhagavad Gītā · in the light of Sri Aurobindo, home
Sign in

Chapter VIII28 verses

अथ अष्टमोऽध्यायः

अक्षरब्रह्मयोगः

The Yoga of the Immutable Brahman

Akṣara-brahma-yoga

Remember Him at all times and fight, until remembrance is no longer an act of the mind but the very substance of your consciousness. — The Delight of Krishna

The soul enters in
vāsudevaḥ sarvam — the knowledge that the Divine is all that is
and is led towards
mām anusmara yudhya ca — the whole of life become a remembrance of the Divine
Begin at 8 · 1 Play chapter

Recitations

  1. Swami Sarvagananda ji0:00
  2. Ashit Desai0:00
In this chapter

28 verses

Summary of chapter 8

The Supreme Divine - We have here the first description of the Supreme Purusha, - the Godhead who is even more and greater than the Immutable and to whom the Gita gives subsequently (as in the fifteenth chapter) the name of Purushottama. The language here is taken bodily from the Upanishads.

Chapter 8 illustration, titled अक्षरब्रह्मयोगः
Illustration · Sushanto Nath, Sri Aurobindo Society

Chapter outline

Choose a range to read just those verses.

  1. 8·1–4The terms of lntegral Knowledge.
  2. 8·5–16The Yogic wav to final release into divine Status.
  3. 8·17–26The Cosmic Cvcle; Dav and Night of the Creator, their hearings on mystic paths.
  4. 8·27–28The supreme value of constant Yoga.
  5. 8·1–28Show all 28 verses

The verses

Arjuna uvācaअर्जुन उवाच

  1. 8·1किं तद् ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम । अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते ॥ १ ॥kiṁ tad brahma kimadhyātmaṁ kiṁ karma puruṣottama, adhibhūtaṁ ca kiṁ proktamadhidaivaṁ kimucyate.What is that brahma, what is adhyātmam, what is karma, O Purushottama?
  2. 8·2अधियज्ञः कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन्मधुसूदन । प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभिः ॥ २ ॥adhiyajñaḥ kathaṁ ko’tra dehe’sminmadhusūdana, prayāṇakāle ca kathaṁ jñeyo’si niyatātmabhiḥ.What is adhiyajñaḥ in this body, O Madhusudana? And how, in the critical moment of departure from physical…

Śrī Bhagavān uvācaश्रीभगवानुवाच

  1. 8·3, a key verseअक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते । भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसंज्ञितः ॥ ३ ॥akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ svabhāvo’dhyātmamucyate, bhūtabhāvodbhavakaro visargaḥ karmasaṁjñitaḥ.The Akshara is the supreme Brahman; svabhāvaḥ is called adhyātmam…
  2. 8·4, a key verseअधिभूतं क्षरो भावः पुरुषश्चाधिदैवतम् । अधियज्ञोऽहमेवात्र देहे देहभृतां वर ॥ ४ ॥adhibhūtaṁ kṣaro bhāvaḥ puruṣaścādhidaivatam, adhiyajño’hamevātra dehe dehabhṛtāṁ vara.adhibhūtam is kṣaraḥ bhāvaḥ, adhidaiva is the Purusha; I myself am the Lord of sacrifice, adhiyajña here in…
  3. 8·5, a key verseअन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम् । यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः ॥ ५ ॥antakāle ca māmeva smaranmuktvā kalevaram, yaḥ prayāti sa madbhāvaṁ yāti nāstyatra saṁśayaḥ.Whoever leaves his body and departs remembering Me at his time of end, comes to my bhāva (that of the…
  4. 8·6यं यं वाऽपि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् । तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः ॥ ६ ॥yaṁ yaṁ vā’pi smaranbhāvaṁ tyajatyante kalevaram, taṁ tamevaiti kaunteya sadā tadbhāvabhāvitaḥ.Whosoever at the end abandons the body, thinking upon any form of being, to that form he attains, O Kaunteya…
  5. 8·7, a key verseतस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च । मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम् ॥ ७ ॥tasmātsarveṣu kāleṣu māmanusmara yudhya ca, mayyarpitamanobuddhirmāmevaiṣyasyasaṁśayam.Therefore at all times remember me and fight; for if thy mind and thy understanding are always fixed on and…
  6. 8·8अभ्यासयोगयुक्तेन चेतसा नान्यगामिना । परमं पुरुषं दिव्यं याति पार्थानुचिन्तयन् ॥ ८ ॥abhyāsayogayuktena cetasā nānyagāminā, paramaṁ puruṣaṁ divyaṁ yāti pārthānucintayan.For it is by thinking always of him with a consciousness united with him in an undeviating Yoga of constant…
  7. 8·9कविं पुराणमनुशासितारं अणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्यः । सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूपम्- आदित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् ॥ ९ ॥kaviṁ purāṇamanuśāsitāraṁ aṇoraṇīyāṁsamanusmaredyaḥ, sarvasya dhātāramacintyarūpam ādityavarṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt.This supreme Self is the Seer, the Ancient of Days, subtler than the subtle and (in his eternal self-vision…
  8. 8·10प्रयाणकाले मनसाऽचलेन भक्त्या युक्तो योगबलेन चैव । भ्रुवोर्मध्ये प्राणमावेश्य सम्यक् स तं परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम् ॥ १० ॥prayāṇakāle manasā’calena bhaktyā yukto yogabalena caiva, bhruvormadhye prāṇamāveśya samyak sa taṁ paraṁ puruṣamupaiti divyam.He who thinks upon this Purusha in the time of departure, with motionless mind, a soul armed with the strength…
  9. 8·11यदक्षरं वेदविदो वदन्ति विशन्ति यद्यतयो वीतरागाः । यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति तत्ते पदं संग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये ॥ ११ ॥yadakṣaraṁ vedavido vadanti viśanti yadyatayo vītarāgāḥ, yadicchanto brahmacaryaṁ caranti tatte padaṁ saṅgraheṇa pravakṣye.This supreme Soul is the immutable self-existent Brahman of whom the Veda-knowers speak, and this is that into…
  10. 8·12सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च । मूर्ध्न्याधायात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम् ॥ १२ ॥sarvadvārāṇi saṁyamya mano hṛdi nirudhya ca, mūrdhnyādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇamāsthito yogadhāraṇām.All the doors of the senses closed, the mind shut in into the heart, the life-force taken up out of its…
  11. 8·13ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् । यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम् ॥ १३ ॥omityekākṣaraṁ brahma vyāharanmāmanusmaran, yaḥ prayāti tyajandehaṁ sa yāti paramāṁ gatim.The intelligence concentrated in the utterance of the sacred syllable OM and its conceptive thought in the…
  12. 8·14, a key verseअनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः । तस्याहं सुलभः पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिनः ॥ १४ ॥ananyacetāḥ satataṁ yo māṁ smarati nityaśaḥ, tasyāhaṁ sulabhaḥ pārtha nityayuktasya yoginaḥ.He who continually remembers Me, thinking of none else, the Yogin, O Partha, who is in constant union with Me…
  13. 8·15मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दुःखालयमशाश्वतम् । नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मानः संसिद्धिं परमां गताः ॥ १५ ॥māmupetya punarjanma duḥkhālayamaśāśvatam, nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ.Having come to me, these great souls come not again to birth, this transient and painful condition of our…
  14. 8·16आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन । मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ॥ १६ ॥ābrahmabhuvanāllokāḥ punarāvartino’rjuna, māmupetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate.The highest heavens of the cosmic plan are subject to a return to rebirth, but, O Kaunteya, there is no…
  15. 8·17सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद् ब्रह्मणो विदुः । रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः ॥ १७ ॥sahasrayugaparyantamaharyad brahmaṇo viduḥ, rātriṁ yugasahasrāntāṁ te’horātravido janāḥ.Those who know the day of Brahma, a thousand ages (Yugas) in duration, and the night, a thousand ages in…
  16. 8·18अव्यक्ताद् व्यक्तयः सर्वाः प्रभवन्त्यहरागमे । रात्र्यागमे प्रलीयन्ते तत्रैवाव्यक्तसंज्ञके ॥ १८ ॥avyaktād vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ prabhavantyaharāgame, rātryāgame pralīyante tatraivāvyaktasaṁjñake.At the coming of the Day all manifestations are born into being out of the unmanifest, at the coming of the…
  17. 8·19भूतग्रामः स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते । रात्र्यागमेऽवशः पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे ॥ १९ ॥bhūtagrāmaḥ sa evāyaṁ bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate, rātryāgame’vaśaḥ pārtha prabhavatyaharāgame.This multitude of existences helplessly comes into the becoming again and again, is dissolved at the coming of…
  18. 8·20परस्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्योऽव्यक्तोऽव्यक्तात्सनातनः । यः स सर्वेषु भूतेषु नश्यत्सु न विनश्यति ॥ २० ॥parastasmāttu bhāvo’nyo’vyakto’vyaktātsanātanaḥ, yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati.But this unmanifest is not the original divinity of the Being…
  19. 8·21अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम् । यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥ २१ ॥avyakto’kṣara ityuktastamāhuḥ paramāṁ gatim, yaṁ prāpya na nivartante taddhāma paramaṁ mama.He is called the unmanifest immutable, him they speak of as the supreme soul and status, and those who attain…
  20. 8·22, a key verseपुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया । यस्यान्तःस्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ॥ २२ ॥puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha bhaktyā labhyastvananyayā, yasyāntaḥsthāni bhūtāni yena sarvamidaṁ tatam.But that supreme Purusha has to be won by a bhakti which turns to him alone in whom all beings exist and by…
  21. 8·23यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृत्तिं चैव योगिनः । प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ ॥ २३ ॥yatra kāle tvanāvṛttimāvṛttiṁ caiva yoginaḥ, prayātā yānti taṁ kālaṁ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha.That time wherein departing Yogins do not return, and also that wherein departing they return, that time shall…
  22. 8·24अग्निर्ज्योतिरहः शुक्लः षण्मासा उत्तरायणम् । तत्र प्रयाता गच्छन्ति ब्रह्म ब्रह्मविदो जनाः ॥ २४ ॥agnirjyotirahaḥ śuklaḥ ṣaṇmāsā uttarāyaṇam, tatra prayātā gacchanti brahma brahmavido janāḥ.Fire and light and smoke or mist, the day and the night, the bright fortnight of the lunar month and the dark…
  23. 8·25धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्णः षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम् । तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते ॥ २५ ॥dhūmo rātristathā kṛṣṇaḥ ṣaṇmāsā dakṣiṇāyanam, tatra cāndramasaṁ jyotiryogī prāpya nivartate.By the second i.e. Smoke or mist, the night, the dark fortnight of lunar month and the southern solstice, the…
  24. 8·26शुक्लकृष्णे गती ह्येते जगतः शाश्वते मते । एकया यात्यनावृत्तिमन्ययावर्तते पुनः ॥ २६ ॥śuklakṛṣṇe gatī hyete jagataḥ śāśvate mate, ekayā yātyanāvṛttimanyayāvartate punaḥ.These are the bright and the dark paths (called the path of the gods and the path of the fathers in the…
  25. 8·27नैते सृती पार्थ जानन्योगी मुह्यति कश्चन । तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु योगयुक्तो भवार्जुन ॥ २७ ॥naite sṛtī pārtha jānanyogī muhyati kaścana, tasmātsarveṣu kāleṣu yogayukto bhavārjuna.The Yogin who knows them (these two courses) is not misled into any error, therefore at all times be in Yoga…
  26. 8·28वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तपःसु चैव दानेषु यत्पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम् । अत्येति तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम् ॥ २८ ॥vedeṣu yajñeṣu tapaḥsu caiva dāneṣu yatpuṇyaphalaṁ pradiṣṭam, atyeti tatsarvamidaṁ viditvā yogī paraṁ sthānamupaiti cādyam.The fruits of meritorious deeds declared in the Vedas, sacrifices, austerities and charitable gifts, the Yogin…

End of the chapter

ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सुब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादेअक्षरब्रह्मयोगो नामाष्टमोऽध्यायः ॥ ८॥

om tatsaditi śrīmadbhagavadgītāsūpaniṣatsubrahmavidyāyāṁ yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjunasaṁvādeakṣarabrahmayogo nāmāṣṭamo’dhyāyaḥ

Thus, in the Upanishad sung by the Lord, the science of Brahman, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the eighth chapter entitled “The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman”

Go to a verse

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28