Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 8, Verse 11
यदक्षरं वेदविदो वदन्ति
विशन्ति यद्यतयो वीतरागाः।
यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति
तत्ते पदं संग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये।।
विशन्ति यद्यतयो वीतरागाः।
यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति
तत्ते पदं संग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये।।
yad akṣaraṁ veda-vido vadanti
viśanti yad yatayo vīta-rāgāḥ
yad icchanto brahmacaryaṁ caranti
tat te padaṁ saṅgraheṇa pravakṣye
also searched as "yad aksharam vedavido vadanti"
Translation
I will briefly speak to you of that immutable Goal, which the knowers of the Vedas declare; into which diligent ones, free from attachment, enter, and for which people practice celibacy, aspiring.
Vāṇi's rendering
The goal the scriptures call imperishable, that renouncers enter, for which brahmacharya is kept — I will name it briefly.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यत्yat | that which |
| अक्षरम्akṣaram | the imperishable, the syllable that does not decay |
| वेदविदःveda-vidaḥ | those who know the Veda (sandhi: vidaḥ + v becomes vido) |
| वदन्तिvadanti | declare, call it |
| विशन्तिviśanti | they enter |
| यत्yat | that which |
| यतयःyatayaḥ | the strivers, those who have renounced (sandhi: yatayaḥ + v becomes yatayo) |
| वीतरागाःvīta-rāgāḥ | with desire gone from them |
| यत्yat | that which |
| इच्छन्तःicchantaḥ | wanting, longing for (sandhi: icchantaḥ + b becomes icchanto) |
| ब्रह्मचर्यम्brahmacaryam | the discipline of continence, the student's vow |
| चरन्तिcaranti | they walk, they practise |
| तत्tat | that |
| तेte | to you |
| पदम्padam | the goal, the standing-place |
| संग्रहेणsaṅgraheṇa | in brief, gathered into few words |
| प्रवक्ष्येpravakṣye | I will speak it out |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Verse 11 mean?
Krishna names one goal and three roads to it. The Veda-knowers call it akṣara, the imperishable. Renouncers whose desire has burned out walk into it. Students keep brahmacaryam because they want it. Having shown that all serious seeking converges on a single point, Krishna promises to state that point briefly — and then does, in the verses that follow.
What is the meaning of yad aksharam vedavido vadanti?
"That which the knowers of the Veda call imperishable." Akṣara means what does not wear away — unlike bodies, worlds, and every reward earned by effort. The line does not define it; it points at where the wisest have already pointed. Krishna is saying: the thing all of them mean, I am about to name for you.
Why does Krishna mention brahmacharya in this verse?
As evidence of how much the goal is worth. Brahmacaryam is not offered here as a rule you must adopt; it appears as the measure of a longing strong enough to reshape a whole life. Krishna cites it and then moves past it, because what those students spent years desiring, he is willing to state in a breath.
Do I have to renounce everything to reach this goal?
The verse names renouncers, but Krishna does not stop there. He says saṅgraheṇa — in brief — to Arjuna, an armed man who is about to fight. The brevity is the point. What ascetics reached by long roads is being handed across a chariot rail. Your circumstances are not the obstacle. Your attention is.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Three kinds of people are pointed at here, and none of them is you yet. The scholars who can name the imperishable. The renouncers who have walked into it. The students who keep brahmacharya because they want it that badly. Krishna gathers all three and says: I will tell you in brief. What took a lifetime of study, a lifetime of restraint, he offers to compress into a few words for a man standing in a chariot with no time left. That compression is the mercy. You do not need the decades. You need to hear it, and to be listening when it comes.