Bhagavad Gita 15.6
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 6 of 20
न तद् भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः । यद् गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद् धाम परमं मम ॥
na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ | yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṃ mama ||
No sun, moon, or fire illumines My supreme abode — going there, none returns. This is the Self-luminous Para-Brahman.
Word by word (3)
- na tad bhāsayate sūryaḥ na śaśāṅkaḥ na pāvakaḥ
- — that (abode — tat padam from V4/V5) is not illumined (na bhāsayate) by the sun (sūrya), nor the moon (śaśāṅka), nor fire (pāvaka) — all external light-sources fail
- yad gatvā na nivartante
- — going to which (yad gatvā) they do not return again (na nivartante) — the signature of mokṣa, echoing V4's na nivartanti bhūyaḥ
- tad dhāma paramaṃ mama
- — that is My supreme dhāman (abode/radiance); mama = of Me, Krishna/Paramātmā — the ultimate destination declared in first person
Neither the sun, nor the moon, nor fire illumines that place. Going there, none return. That is My supreme abode.
A modern analogy
We light a candle to see in the dark. But the sun doesn't need a candle — it is the source of all candle-fire. And Brahman doesn't even need the sun — it is the source of the sun's ability to shine. The supreme abode is Self-luminous: not lit from outside, because it IS the source of all light.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
That the sun illumines not, nor the moon, nor fire; That is My Supreme Abode, to which having gone none return. [1]
That the sun illumines not, nor the moon, nor fire; that is My Supreme Abode, going whither they return not. [4]
The sun does not light it, nor the moon, nor fire. That is my highest abode, going to which none returns. [9]
The sun lights not that seat, nor the moon, nor fire. That is My highest abode, going to which none returns. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The all-pervading Lord takes neither sin nor merit from anyone — ignorance veils knowledge and deludes all beings.
Krishna's first words to Arjuna are a challenge: 'From where has this come over you?'
A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield — and the Gita begins.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
That which pervades everything cannot be destroyed — nothing and no one has the power to end it.
The soul does not slay, and cannot be slain — both the slayer and the slain have mistaken the soul for the body.
Verse 6 of 20 · back to Chapter 15