Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 15, Verse 6
न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः।यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम।।
na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ
yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
also searched as "na tad bhasayate suryo na shashanko na pavakah"
Translation
That supreme light, upon reaching which they do not return any more, is Mine; neither the sun nor the moon nor the fire illuminates It.
Vāṇi's rendering
No sun lights that place, no moon, no fire. Those who reach it never return. It is my highest home.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नna | not |
| तत्tad | that (place) |
| भासयतेbhāsayate | illumines, makes to shine |
| सूर्योsūryo | the sun (sūryaḥ, softened before the following na) |
| नna | nor |
| शशाङ्कोśaśāṅko | the moon (śaśāṅkaḥ, the hare-marked one) |
| नna | nor |
| पावकःpāvakaḥ | fire |
| यत्yad | which |
| गत्वाgatvā | having gone, having reached |
| नna | not |
| निवर्तन्तेnivartante | they return, they come back |
| तत्tad | that (tat + dhāma joins as tad dhāma) |
| धामdhāma | abode, dwelling, home |
| परमंparamaṁ | highest, supreme |
| ममmama | mine |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 Verse 6 mean?
It means the highest home needs no lamp. Sun, moon and fire are all lights that depend on something else and eventually fail; that place is lit by nothing because it is what lighting itself comes from. And those who reach it do not come back. Krishna calls it simply mama — mine.
What does na tad bhasayate suryo na shashanko na pavakah mean?
No sun lights that place, no moon, no fire. Sūrya, śaśāṅka and pāvaka are the three lights the ancient world lived by, and Krishna sets all three aside in one breath. Not to describe darkness — to say that what shines there is prior to every borrowed brightness you have ever depended on.
Why does the verse say those who reach it never return?
Because every other arrival in your life has been temporary. You reached a place, a mood, an understanding, and then left it. Krishna is naming the single exception. Reaching his dhāma is not a visit that ends when attention wanders; nothing remains that would pull you back out again.
Is this supreme abode a place I go after death?
The verse says dhāma, home, not a location on any map. It is called paramam because there is nothing beyond it to want. You do not travel there by dying; you travel there by ceasing to be held by what comes and goes. That work begins wherever you are sitting now.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Every light you have ever seen was borrowed. The sun burns, the moon reflects, the fire eats wood — each needs fuel, each goes out. Krishna names a place none of them can reach, not because it is dark but because it is the source of shining; there is nothing there left to be lit. And the going is one-way. Everything else you have arrived at, you have also left — jobs, moods, certainties, the rooms of your own life. This is the one arrival with no return trip. Not a reward far off. His home, and he calls it highest because nothing further is needed once you are there.