Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 50
सिद्धिं प्राप्तो यथा ब्रह्म तथाप्नोति निबोध मे।समासेनैव कौन्तेय निष्ठा ज्ञानस्य या परा।।
siddhiṁ prāpto yathā brahma tathāpnoti nibodha me
samāsenaiva kaunteya niṣṭhā jñānasya yā parā
also searched as "siddhim prapto yatha brahma tathapnoti nibodha me"
Translation
Learn from me, O Arjuna, in brief how one who has attained perfection attains the Brahman—the supreme consummation of knowledge.
Vāṇi's rendering
Now hear, briefly, how one who reaches that perfection reaches the eternal — knowledge's final resting place.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सिद्धिम्siddhim | perfection, the accomplished state |
| प्राप्तःprāptaḥ | one who has reached it (sandhi: prāpto before yathā) |
| यथाyathā | how, in what manner |
| ब्रह्मbrahma | the eternal |
| तथाtathā | in that same way (joined with āpnoti as tathāpnoti) |
| आप्नोतिāpnoti | reaches, arrives at |
| निबोधnibodha | hear well, take this in |
| मेme | from me |
| समासेनsamāsena | briefly, in summary |
| एवeva | only, just (joined as samāsenaiva) |
| कौन्तेयkaunteya | Arjuna, son of Kunti |
| निष्ठाniṣṭhā | the firm resting place, where one comes to a stand |
| ज्ञानस्यjñānasya | of knowledge |
| याyā | which |
| पराparā | highest, final |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 50 mean?
Krishna tells Arjuna he will now show, in brief, how the one who has reached perfection reaches the eternal. He calls this the parā niṣṭhā of knowledge — its highest resting place. The verse is a doorway: it promises that everything said so far can be gathered into something short enough to hold.
What does siddhim prapto yatha brahma tathapnoti nibodha me teach?
That perfection is not the destination. Reaching siddhi, Krishna says, one then reaches brahma — so the accomplished state is itself a threshold. Whatever you have achieved in practice, character, or clarity is a step you stand on, not a place you settle. Krishna asks only that you hear where the step leads.
What is nishtha in this verse?
Niṣṭhā is firm standing — the ground where movement stops. Krishna calls the eternal knowledge's parā niṣṭhā, its final resting place. Knowledge is usually pictured as accumulation, more and more. Here it is pictured as arrival. The seeking has an end, and the end is not another book.
Why does Krishna say he will speak briefly here?
Because Arjuna is standing between two armies. Length was for the teaching; brevity is for the moment of action. Krishna has said much, and now compresses it to what can be carried into battle. When your own hour comes, you will not recall the chapters — only the one line that stayed.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Krishna announces a summary — samāsena, briefly — and Arjuna, who has already heard seventeen chapters, is asked to listen once more. What follows is not new material. It is the same teaching compressed to what a man can carry into a fight. Notice the word niṣṭhā: not the height of knowledge but its resting place, where the mind finally stops moving. Knowledge here is not a pile that grows. It is a search that ends. You have read enough about the eternal. What Krishna offers now is the place to set the reading down and stand.