Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 15, Verse 4
ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्य यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः।तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी।।
tataḥ padaṁ tat parimārgitavyaṁ
yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ
tam eva cādyaṁ puruṣaṁ prapadye
yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī
also searched as "tatah padam tat parimargitavyam"
Translation
Then, one should seek that goal, attaining which one never returns. One should seek refuge with that Primal Person from whom this ancient activity streamed forth.
Vāṇi's rendering
Then seek the place from which no one returns, saying: I take refuge in the first person, the ancient source.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ततःtataḥ | then — after the tree has been cut |
| पदम्padam | the place, the standing-ground, the goal |
| तत्tat | that |
| परिमार्गितव्यम्parimārgitavyam | is to be searched out, tracked down |
| यस्मिन्yasmin | into which |
| गताःgatā | those gone (gatāḥ; the visarga falls away before na) |
| नna | not |
| निवर्तन्तिnivartanti | turn back, come round again |
| भूयःbhūyaḥ | again, a second time |
| तम्tam | him |
| एवeva | him alone, none other |
| चca | and (joined as cādyam) |
| आद्यम्ādyam | the first, the one before all |
| पुरुषम्puruṣam | person |
| प्रपद्येprapadye | I take refuge, I fall toward — spoken in the first person |
| यतःyataḥ | from whom |
| प्रवृत्तिःpravṛttiḥ | the streaming forth, the whole flow of doing |
| प्रसृताprasṛtā | poured out, spread wide |
| पुराणीpurāṇī | ancient, from the beginning |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 Verse 4 mean?
It means the felling of the tree was never the point — the going was. Once attachment's hold is cut, Krishna says, track down the place from which no one turns back, and take refuge in the ancient source out of which all activity streamed. Cutting clears the ground. Refuge is what you build on it.
What does 'tatah padam tat parimargitavyam' teach a seeker?
Parimārgitavyam is a hunter's word — to track, to follow signs. The verse does not say the goal will arrive. It says go looking, patiently, the way one follows a trail. Renunciation without this searching leaves you empty-handed. You cut the tree so that your hands are free to search.
Why does the verse suddenly say 'I take refuge'?
Because Krishna is no longer describing; he is giving Arjuna words. Prapadye is first person, present tense — a thing said, not a thing believed about. The whole chapter's imagery of roots and branches resolves into one short sentence a person can actually speak. Say it in your own voice, and it begins.
What is the place from which no one returns?
Not a location, and not a reward held out for later. It is the standing-ground where the turning stops — where you no longer swing back into wanting, losing, and wanting again. The ancient source and the final place are the same one. You return to what you never actually left.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Something shifts in the third line. Until now Krishna has been describing — a tree, its roots, the axe. Then the grammar turns: prapadye, I take refuge. He hands Arjuna a sentence to say in his own mouth. Cutting is not enough; after the tree falls you must go somewhere, and the going is done by declaring, not by knowing. Notice the order. First the axe, then the road, then the words. Seekers often want the refuge without the cutting, or the cutting without the refuge, and are left standing in the wreckage. You will need both. Say it yourself; it does not work said for you.