Bhagavad Gita 5.17
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 17 of 29
तद्बुद्धयस्तदात्मानस्तन्निष्ठास्तत्परायणाः। गच्छन्त्यपुनरावृत्तिं ज्ञाननिर्धूतकल्मषाः॥५-१७॥
tad-buddhayas tad-ātmānas tan-niṣṭhās tat-parāyaṇāḥ | gacchanty apunar-āvṛttiṃ jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ || 5.17 ||
Absorbed in That, self rooted in That, devoted to That — knowledge-purified, they reach non-return.
Word by word (7)
- tad-buddhayas
- — those whose intellect is fixed on That (Brahman)
- tad-ātmānas
- — whose very self is That / who identify their self as That
- tan-niṣṭhāḥ
- — established/steadfast in That
- tat-parāyaṇāḥ
- — who take That as their supreme refuge / devoted to That alone
- gacchanti
- — they go / attain / reach
- apunar-āvṛttim
- — non-return / the state of no more coming back (to rebirth)
- jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ
- — whose impurities are shaken off / cleansed by knowledge
With their understanding fixed on That, their very self merged in That, steadfast in That, holding That as their highest refuge, they go where there is no return, their impurities washed away by knowledge.
A modern analogy
Someone who has genuinely overcome an addiction reaches a point of non-return — not by white-knuckling willpower, but because their entire identity has shifted. They no longer think of themselves as 'a person fighting addiction.' That self is gone. The Gita's apunar-āvṛtti is the spiritual equivalent: the ego-identity that kept returning to suffering is dissolved by jñāna.
What it does NOT mean
Non-return (apunar-āvṛtti) is not about dying and going somewhere else. It is the state of mokṣa — liberation from the cycle of conditioned existence. It describes an inner condition, not a geographical destination.
Take with you
- Four qualities of the liberated: tad-buddhi (intellect fixed on That), tad-ātmā (self identified with That), tan-niṣṭhā (steadfast in That), tat-parāyaṇa (That as supreme refuge). These are a progressive deepening — check where you are on this spectrum.
- jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ — 'impurities shaken off by knowledge' — liberation is not gradual moral improvement but the shaking off of what was never truly part of the Self.
- Apunar-āvṛtti (non-return) is the fruit of the four qualities together — not of any one of them alone.
Public-domain translations (6) compare all →
"Those whose intellect is in That, whose self is That, whose steadfastness is in That, who take refuge in That — they go to non-return, their impurities shaken off by knowledge." [1]
"Their intellect absorbed in That, their self being That, established in That, That being their supreme goal, they go whence there is no return, their sins dispelled by knowledge." [4]
"Their intellect absorbed in That, their self That, their settled rest in That, their supreme goal That — they go whence is no return, their sins washed away by wisdom." [5]
"Those whose intellect is centred in Brahman, whose self is Brahman, who are established in Brahman, and who look upon Brahman as their supreme object, go to that from which there is no return, their impurities being destroyed by knowledge." [6]
"With intellect, with heart, with will all bent on Brahm — all fixed on Him — going, never to return, sins washed away by light of wisdom." [7]
"Those whose mind is fixed on that, whose self is that, who are devoted to that, and who hold that as the supreme goal, go to that from which there is no return, their sins being destroyed by knowledge." [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
When knowledge destroys ignorance of the Self, it illumines the Supreme — like the sun dispelling darkness.
The faithful, devoted, sense-controlled person attains jñāna — and quickly reaches supreme peace.
The great-souled who reach the highest perfection and come to Me are not reborn in this home of pain and impermanence.
No sun, moon, or fire illumines My supreme abode — going there, none returns. This is the Self-luminous Para-Brahman.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
Daivī wealth begins: abhaya, sattva-śuddhi, jñāna-yoga, dāna, dama, yajña, svādhyāya, tapa, ārjava.
Verse 17 of 29 · back to Chapter 5