Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 8, Verse 3
श्री भगवानुवाच
अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते।
भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसंज्ञितः।।
अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते।
भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसंज्ञितः।।
śrī bhagavān uvāca
akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ svabhāvo ’dhyātmam ucyate
bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo visargaḥ karma-sanjñitaḥ
also searched as "aksharam brahma paramam svabhavo dhyatmam uchyate"
Translation
The Blessed Lord said, "The Immutable is the supreme Brahman; selfhood is said to be the entity present in the individual plane. By action is meant the offerings that bring about the origin of existence of things."
Vāṇi's rendering
The imperishable highest is Brahman; its presence in each being, the self; the creative surge birthing beings — action.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| श्रीśrī | holy, radiant — a mark of reverence before the name |
| भगवान्bhagavān | the one full of glory; Krishna |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| अक्षरम्akṣaram | the imperishable; what does not wear away |
| ब्रह्मbrahma | Brahman, the vast ground of everything |
| परमम्paramam | highest, beyond which there is nothing |
| स्वभावःsvabhāvaḥ | its own being, its very nature (the ḥ becomes o before the next word) |
| अध्यात्मम्adhyātmam | that which stands within the self; the imperishable as present in a body |
| उच्यतेucyate | is called, is named |
| भूतभावोद्भवकरःbhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo | that which brings about the coming-into-being of beings |
| विसर्गःvisargaḥ | the pouring out, the releasing — as an offering is let go into fire |
| कर्मसंज्ञितःkarma-sanjñitaḥ | goes by the name action |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Verse 3 mean?
Krishna answers by naming, not explaining. The imperishable is Brahman, the highest. That same imperishable, standing in a body, is called adhyātma — the self. And the outpouring that keeps bringing beings into existence is called karma. One reality, named differently according to where it is met.
What does 'aksharam brahma paramam svabhavo dhyatmam uchyate' mean?
The imperishable is the supreme Brahman; its own being, present in each individual, is called adhyātma. Krishna offers Arjuna terms, not comfort. And notice that nothing here is far off. What cannot perish is not elsewhere — it is already seated where you say the word I.
What is adhyatma in the Gita?
Not a subject to be studied. Adhyātma is the imperishable as it stands in a body — svabhāva, the innermost of what you actually are. Krishna does not present it as a possession or an attainment. It is what is nearest, and being nearest, it is what you walk past all day.
Why does Krishna call action visarga, a pouring out?
Visargaḥ means a letting-go — the word used for an offering released into fire. Krishna defines action that way: not something you manufacture, but a surge that births beings and keeps them coming. Your work belongs to that pouring. Which is why the Gītā asks you to release the fruit as well.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna asked seven questions in two verses. Krishna answers each in half a line. No unfolding, no story — just the naming. The imperishable is Brahman; its presence in each body is what you call your self; and the surge that keeps birthing beings is what you call your action. These are not separate items. One imperishable, seen from where you stand, becomes your innermost; seen as it pours outward, becomes everything you do. Arjuna wanted vocabulary and received a single thing under different names. When you act, you are not adding to the world. You are the pouring, and what pours cannot perish.