Bhagavad Gita 8.16
Spoken by Krishna ☆ Key verse · Verse 16 of 28
आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन | मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ||१६||
ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino'rjuna | mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate || 16 ||
All worlds up to Brahma's realm are subject to return — but those who attain Me, O Arjuna, are not reborn.
Word by word (3)
- ā-brahma-bhuvanāt lokāḥ punar āvartinaḥ arjuna
- — All worlds up to Brahma's realm are subject to return, O Arjuna · ā = up to, all the way to (inclusive prefix — indicates the complete range from here to the uppermost). brahma-bhuvanāt = from/to Brahma's realm (brahma = Brahmā, the Creator deity; bhuvana = realm, world, abode; brahma-bhuvana = Brahma's world — the highest created realm, located at the top of the cosmic hierarchy; ā-brahma-bhuvanāt = 'up to and including Brahma's world' — the entire created cosmos, from here to the highest). lokāḥ = worlds (plural — all worlds, all realms). punar = again (repetition). āvartinaḥ = those who return (āvartin = one who turns back, one who returns to the cycle; from ā + √vṛt = to turn, to return — āvartana = turning back, return). arjuna = O Arjuna. The scope: every created realm (lokāḥ), from the lowest to Brahma's highest realm (ā-brahma-bhuvanāt), is included in the cycle of return (punar āvartina). Even the creator-god's realm, which in earlier Vedic thought represented the highest attainable goal, is subject to return. This sweeps away all intermediate goals as insufficient — only the attainment of Krishna escapes the cycle.
- mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate
- — But having attained Me, O Kaunteya, rebirth is not known (does not exist) · mām = Me (Krishna). upetya = having attained (upa + √i = to approach, come to — upetya = gerund, 'having come to'). tu = but (contrastive particle — creating the distinction between the previous 'all worlds return' and the following 'but Me...'). kaunteya = O Kaunteya (son of Kuntī — Arjuna; the maternal address softens the cosmic teaching, making it personal). punar janma = rebirth. na vidyate = is not known, does not exist (na = not; vidyate = it exists, it is found — na vidyate = is not found, does not exist). The tu (but) is the verse's most important word: it creates the decisive contrast between all created realms (which return) and Krishna's attainment (which does not return). V16 repeats V15's promise in sharper relief: not just 'the great-souled are not reborn' (V15's personal statement) but 'ALL worlds return — but My attainment is uniquely final' (V16's cosmic statement). The contrast makes V15's promise cosmically grounded: it is not an exception but the ONLY exception in an otherwise universal law of return.
- ā-brahma-bhuvanāt — why including Brahma's realm is significant
- — Brahmaloka (highest created realm) is explicitly included in the cycle of return — making it clear that no created attainment escapes rebirth · Brahmaloka (Brahma's realm) was in earlier Vedic thought considered the highest attainable goal — reaching Brahmā's realm was the fruit of the highest Vedic rites and sacrifices. The Chāndogya Upaniṣad 4.15.5-6 says those who know Brahman go to Brahman 'and do not return' — but this referred to Brahman (the Absolute), not Brahmā (the Creator). V16 makes the distinction explicit: Brahma's realm (brahma-bhuvana = the Creator's realm) IS included in the cycle of return. This is a decisive teaching: even the highest cosmological attainment short of the akṣara Brahman (V3) is subject to return. V17-V19 will explain WHY: Brahma himself is subject to the cosmic day-night cycle — his realm lasts for a cosmic night, then dissolves. Only the attainment of the akṣara beyond Brahmā is truly final (V15: no punar janma).
All worlds, up to the realm of Brahmā, are subject to return, O Arjuna; but on reaching Me, O son of Kuntī, there is no rebirth.
A modern analogy
Even the highest-floor penthouse in the tallest skyscraper is still subject to the building's existence and eventual demolition. The only thing not subject to the building's cycle is whatever is beyond the building entirely. This verse says: all worlds — even the cosmic penthouse (Brahma's realm) — are subject to the building's cycle. Only stepping outside the building entirely (mām upetya — attaining Me) escapes it.
What it does NOT mean
'Brahma's realm' refers to Brahmā (the Creator deity), not Brahman (the Absolute). This is a crucial distinction: attaining Brahman (the Absolute = Krishna's nature = the Imperishable, the akṣara that is the cosmic offering sustaining all beings) IS the liberation that escapes rebirth. This verse is saying that Brahmā's cosmological realm — however exalted — is still within the cycle. The Brahman beyond Brahmā is what the great-souled were promised: no rebirth in the home of pain.
Take with you
- This verse provides the ultimate context for all spiritual aspiration: what is the highest goal that is truly final? It answers: not any realm, not even the highest cosmic realm, but the attainment of Krishna (the akṣara Brahman). This makes the practice of single-pointed remembrance and the death-moment teaching of OM + mām anusmaran the most practically important teachings — they lead to what this verse identifies as the only final destination.
- The cosmic sweep (all worlds return) is not designed to produce despair but precision of aspiration. The Gita does not deny the relative value of higher attainments (better realms, more virtuous rebirths, greater wisdom) — but this verse clarifies that none of these is the FINAL goal. Aim for mām upetya — attaining Me.
- This verse provides the philosophical context for why Krishna's central instruction — 'fight AND remember Me' — is the Gita's heart: in a universe where ALL worlds return, the only action that leads to what does not return is the constant, ever-yoked practice. This makes that practice instruction cosmically urgent.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
All the worlds, O Arjuna, including the realm of Brahma, are subject to return, but after attaining Me, O son of Kunti, there is no rebirth. [4]
Up to the realm of Brahma, all worlds are subject to return, O Arjuna; but he who reacheth me, O son of Kuntî, hath no rebirth. [5]
All the worlds, O Arjuna, even to the abode of Brahma, are subject to return. But after attaining me, O son of Kunti, there is no return. [6]
The worlds, Arjuna!--even Brahma's world-- Roll back again from Death to Life's unrest; But they, O Kunti's Son! that reach to Me, Taste birth no more. [7]
All worlds, O Arjuna! up to the world of Brahman, are (destined) to return. But, O son of Kunti! after attaining to me, there is no birth again. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The great-souled who reach the highest perfection and come to Me are not reborn in this home of pain and impermanence.
Those who know Brahma's Day as a thousand yugas and his Night as a thousand yugas — they know day and night truly.
At the end of each cosmic age, all beings return to My prakriti — at the next dawn, I send them forth again.
I taught this imperishable yoga to the sun-god at the dawn of time — it has been passed down through kings ever since.
Brahman is the Imperishable; Adhyātma is its presence in each body; Karma is the cosmic offering sustaining all beings.
Before birth: unmanifest. After death: unmanifest. The life between is the brief visible part — what is there to grieve?
Verse 16 of 28 · back to Chapter 8