Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 8, Verse 16
आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन।
मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते।।
मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते।।
ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna
mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate
also searched as "abrahma bhuvanal lokah punar avartino arjuna"
Translation
O Arjuna, all the worlds together with the world of Brahma are subject to return. But, O son of Kunti, there is no rebirth after reaching Me.
Vāṇi's rendering
Every world, even the Creator's, turns and returns. But reach me, and there is no returning.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आब्रह्मभुवनात्ā-brahma-bhuvanāt | all the way up to the world of Brahmā, the Creator's own realm (sandhi: -āt becomes -āl before lokāḥ) |
| लोकाःlokāḥ | the worlds, every realm of existence |
| पुनःpunar | again, over and over |
| आवर्तिनःāvartinaḥ | subject to return, bound to come back (sandhi: āvartino before the elided a of arjuna) |
| अर्जुनarjuna | Arjuna (the initial a is elided, marked ’) |
| माम्mām | me |
| उपेत्यupetya | having reached, having come near |
| तुtu | but |
| कौन्तेयkaunteya | son of Kunti |
| पुनःpunar | again |
| जन्मjanma | birth |
| नna | not |
| विद्यतेvidyate | is found, exists |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Verse 16 mean?
It means no destination earned by merit is permanent. Even Brahmā's world, the highest station in creation, releases you back into birth when your account runs down. Krishna sets one exception against all of them: reaching him. That arrival has no return leg, because it is not a place you were sent to.
What does abrahma bhuvanal lokah punaravartino arjuna teach?
That the ladder of worlds, however high you climb it, is still a ladder — and ladders are descended. Krishna tells Arjuna this plainly, by name, so he stops measuring success in altitude. What you reach by effort you keep by effort. What Krishna gives, he does not take back.
Why is even Brahma's world subject to rebirth?
Because it was earned. Anything won by good action lasts as long as that action's force lasts, then the wheel turns and returns you. Duration is not eternity. A very long stay still ends. Krishna is not diminishing the Creator's realm — he is telling you where its boundary lies.
How do I reach Krishna so there is no returning?
Not by climbing. The verse says upetya — having come near. It is approach, not achievement. You turn toward him with whatever you have, in whatever life you are actually living. The returning stops when the seeking stops looking elsewhere, and that can begin today.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Heaven is not the end of the road; it is a longer stay. Krishna names the highest address in the cosmos — the Creator's own world — and says it too has a return ticket. Everything gained can be spent. Every height reached by merit lasts exactly as long as the merit lasts, then the wheel turns. Arjuna is being warned off a small ambition. You have one too: the promotion, the peace after the move, the year when things finally settle. All of them turn and return. Only one arrival does not send you back. Aim past the places that expire.