Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 8, Verse 15
मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दुःखालयमशाश्वतम्।
नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मानः संसिद्धिं परमां गताः।।
नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मानः संसिद्धिं परमां गताः।।
mām upetya punar janma duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ sansiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ
also searched as "Mam upetya punarjanma duhkhalayam ashashvatam"
Translation
As a result of reaching Me, the exalted ones who have attained the highest perfection do not get birth, which is an abode of sorrows and is impermanent.
Vāṇi's rendering
Having reached me, the great souls are not born again into this passing house of sorrow. They are complete.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| माम्mām | me — Krishna |
| उपेत्यupetya | having reached, having come to |
| पुनःpunaḥ | again (appears as punar before janma) |
| जन्मjanma | birth |
| दुःखduḥkha | sorrow, pain |
| आलयम्ālayam | house, dwelling place (joined by sandhi as duḥkhālayam — the house of sorrow) |
| अशाश्वतम्aśāśvatam | not lasting, impermanent |
| नna | not (joined by sandhi as nāpnuvanti) |
| आप्नुवन्तिāpnuvanti | they come to, they get |
| महात्मानःmahātmānaḥ | the great souls |
| संसिद्धिम्sansiddhim | completion, full perfection |
| परमाम्paramām | highest |
| गताःgatāḥ | having gone, having arrived at |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Verse 15 mean?
It means those who reach Krishna are not born again into this impermanent dwelling of sorrow. The stress falls on the last word: they have arrived at the highest completion. Freedom from rebirth is not described as a reward given to them but as the natural shape of someone who has nothing further to become.
What does 'mam upetya punarjanma duhkhalayam ashashvatam' mean?
Having come to me, they do not come again to birth — which Krishna calls duḥkhālayam, the house of sorrow, and aśāśvatam, the thing that does not last. Both words matter. The world hurts, and it also slips away. He names it plainly, without contempt, the way one names a rented room.
Why does Krishna call the world a house of sorrow?
Not to shame the world, but to describe it accurately. Everything here is held on loan and ends. Sorrow is not an accident inside the arrangement; it is the arrangement. Saying this clearly is what frees Arjuna to act without demanding that the arrangement finally make him safe.
Is escaping rebirth the goal of the Gita?
The verse does not present escape as the goal. It presents saṁsiddhi — completion — and freedom from return follows from it. The great souls are not running from anything. They are simply finished. Wanting to escape is still wanting, and wanting is still a reason to be born.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Krishna does not promise the great souls a better birth. He promises no birth — then names what is left behind: a house, temporary, furnished with sorrow. Notice the word house. You live in it, maintain it, fear losing it. Arjuna is about to fight over the ownership of exactly such a house. The verse ends not in escape but in saṁsiddhi — completion. Not someone rescued from somewhere, but someone with nothing further to become. That is why they do not return; there is nothing left to come back for. Whatever in you is still reaching is still being born.