Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 5, Verse 25
लभन्ते ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृषयः क्षीणकल्मषाः।
छिन्नद्वैधा यतात्मानः सर्वभूतहिते रताः।।
छिन्नद्वैधा यतात्मानः सर्वभूतहिते रताः।।
labhante brahma-nirvāṇam ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ
cchinna-dvaidhā yatātmānaḥ sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ
also searched as "labhante brahma-nirvanam rishayah kshina-kalmashah"
Translation
The sages, who are free from the pairs of opposites, whose minds are well subdued, and who are devoted to the welfare of all beings, become cleansed of all impurities and attain the bliss of Brahman.
Vāṇi's rendering
Sins burned, doubts cut, self mastered, glad in the good of every creature — such seers reach lasting freedom.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| लभन्तेlabhante | they attain, they come into |
| ब्रह्मनिर्वाणम्brahma-nirvāṇam | the cooling into Brahman; freedom that does not end |
| ऋषयःṛṣayaḥ | seers, those who see truly |
| क्षीणकल्मषाःkṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ | whose stains have worn away to nothing |
| छिन्नद्वैधाःcchinna-dvaidhāḥ | whose doubleness — doubt, the pull of opposites — is cut through; the opening c is doubled by sandhi after the preceding word |
| यतात्मानःyata-ātmānaḥ | self held steady, the mind reined in (yata + ātmānaḥ) |
| सर्वभूतहितेsarva-bhūta-hite | in the good of all beings |
| रताःratāḥ | delighting, gladly at home |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 Verse 25 mean?
It describes what a free person is actually like. The stains are worn away, the inner doubleness is cut, the self is held steady — and then, almost casually, Krishna says such a one delights in the good of all beings. Freedom is not withdrawal from creatures. It arrives as gladness in them.
What does labhante brahma nirvanam rishayah kshina kalmashah mean?
The seers whose stains have thinned attain brahma-nirvāṇam — a cooling, a going out of the fire, into Brahman. Nirvāṇa here is not blankness. It is the end of burning: no more grievance, no more inner argument, nothing left that needs defending.
Why does this verse link liberation with serving others?
Because Krishna refuses to let freedom be private. A mind still knotted around itself has no attention to spare. When the knots go, attention moves outward on its own — not as duty, as ratāḥ, gladness. Service is not the price of freedom. It is the evidence.
What are the doubts that get cut in chinna dvaidhah?
Dvaidhā is twoness — the mind split between two paths, two verdicts, two selves. Arjuna arrived on the field exactly this way, arguing both sides of himself. What is cut is not disagreement with others but the endless court case you hold within, where no ruling ever stands.
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Commentary
Four things are true of them at once, and the last one surprises. Stains worn thin, doubt cut, self held steady — that much you might expect of a seer. Then Krishna adds: glad in the good of every creature. Freedom does not end in a cave. It ends in caring, and the caring is no longer effort; it has become gladness. Arjuna is being shown that the far shore looks like kindness. When your own knots loosen, watch where your attention goes — outward, without being sent. That is how you will know something has actually let go.