Bhagavad Gita 8.5
Spoken by Krishna ★ Essential verse · Verse 5 of 28
अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम् | यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः ||५||
anta-kāle ca mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram | yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṃ yāti nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ || 5 ||
Whoever at death remembers Me alone — leaving the body — attains My very Being. Of this, there is no doubt.
Word by word (3)
- anta-kāle ca mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram yaḥ prayāti
- — whoever departs, at the final time, remembering Me alone, having left the body · anta-kāle = at the final time (anta = end, final; kāle = at the time — anta-kāla = the final moment, the time of death). ca = and. mām = Me. eva = alone, only (emphatic — 'Me ALONE' — this exclusivity is the teaching; not 'thinking of Me among other things' but 'remembering Me alone'). smaran = remembering (present participle from √smṛ = to remember, to recall — smaran = while remembering). muktvā = having released, having left (from √muc = to release — muktvā = having released the body). kalevaram = the body (kalevara = the body, the physical form — a term often used when the body is being left at death). yaḥ = whoever (relative pronoun — universal scope). prayāti = departs, goes forth (from pra + √yā = to go forth — prayāti = at death, the consciousness goes forth from the body). The complete picture: whoever (yaḥ) at the time of death (anta-kāle) remembers Me alone (mām eva smaran) while leaving the body (muktvā kalevaram) goes forth (prayāti)...
- sa mad-bhāvaṃ yāti nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ
- — ...that one attains My very Being — of this there is absolutely no doubt · sa = that one (the person described above). mad-bhāvaṃ = My very Being (mat = My; bhāva = being, existence, nature — mad-bhāva = My own Being/nature/state; this is not just 'goes to Me' but attains My very Being — a complete identification, not a geographic destination). yāti = attains, goes to (√yā = to go, to attain). nāsti = there is not (na + asti = not + is). atra = here, in this matter. saṃśayaḥ = doubt (saṃ = complete; śaya = lying — saṃśaya = complete uncertainty, doubt; the thing that lies across and blocks). The absolute assurance: 'nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ' = of this, there is no doubt whatsoever. The use of saṃśaya here is intentional — it was the word used in V1's own verse context (Ch.7 V1: 'asaṃśayaṃ samagraṃ māṃ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu' — 'how you shall know Me fully without doubt'). V8.5 is the fulfillment of that promise: the one who remembers Me at death knows Me fully — no doubt.
- mām eva smaran — the 'alone' qualifier and its implications
- — 'Remembering Me ALONE' — the quality of undivided remembrance at death that determines the departure · The word 'eva' (alone, only, indeed) in 'mām eva smaran' is critical. This is not 'remembering Me among other things' — it is undivided remembrance. The quality of mind at death is characterized by this 'eva' — an undivided, singular orientation toward Krishna alone. This 'alone' quality is what makes V2's question about 'niyatātmabhiḥ' (by the self-controlled) relevant: only the disciplined mind can achieve the 'mām eva' quality at death, when the body is in distress and the mind is naturally scattered. V5's 'mām eva' is the fruit of a lifetime of practice — specifically the practice described in V7 (remembering Me with undivided mind throughout life). V8 will make this explicit: 'tasmāt sarveSu kāleSu mām anusmara yudhya ca' — 'therefore at all times remember Me and fight.' The preparation for V5 is the entirety of the Gita's practice.
And whoever, at the final hour, leaves the body remembering Me alone, attains My Being — of this there is no doubt.
A modern analogy
A musician who has practiced a piece for years can perform it even under extreme pressure — illness, distress, disruption — because it is deeply internalized. This verse's teaching, 'remembering Me alone at death,' is the spiritual equivalent: the Divine that has been remembered, practiced, and internalized throughout life is what the mind naturally returns to at death, even when the body fails. This is not a deathbed prescription but a lifetime practice with a death-moment fruit.
What it does NOT mean
This verse does NOT mean that only those who chant 'Krishna' at the last moment are saved — the 'remembering' here is not a verbal formula but the state of consciousness at death: where is the mind's deepest orientation? What has been cultivated throughout life as the primary object of love and attention? The next verse will make this clear: whatever one thinks of at the time of death, to that one goes.
Take with you
- This verse's principle is not about death per se — it is about the depth of internalization of spiritual practice. If Krishna (or the Divine, in whatever form) is the primary orientation of a life's practice, that orientation will be present at death. This teaching makes every moment of genuine spiritual remembrance a contribution to the death-moment recognition.
- The phrase mad-bhāvaṃ yāti (attaining My very Being) is a complete liberation teaching: not going to a heavenly realm — which Krishna elsewhere warns gives only a finite result, the reward of those whose understanding is limited — but attaining Krishna's own Being (mad-bhāva). This is the highest aspiration — not rebirth in any realm but recognition of the Divine nature itself.
- The assurance nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ (no doubt here) is the Gita's personal pledge — Krishna removes all doubt from this specific teaching. It echoes His promise at the start of the previous chapter that one may know Him fully and without doubt, and His earlier warning that the doubting one perishes. This assurance is the seal of the teaching.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
And he who at the time of death, meditating on Me alone, goes forth, leaving the body, attains My Being; there is no doubt about this. [4]
Whoso at the hour of death, leaving the body, goeth forth remembering Me alone, reacheth My nature. Of that be thou sure. [5]
Whoever, leaving the body at the time of death, departeth remembering me alone, attaineth unto my nature. Of this there is no doubt. [6]
And, at the hour of death, He that hath meditated Me alone, In putting off his flesh, comes forth to Me, Make thou no doubt of this! [7]
And he who at the time of death meditates on me, leaving the body, goes to my nature; about this there is no doubt. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Who is Adhiyajña in this body, and how are You known at the time of death, O destroyer of Madhu?
Whatever state of being one remembers at death — to that state one attains, shaped by one's constant thought.
With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.
Though unborn, imperishable, Lord of all — I come into being through My own Māyā. Divine birth is free, not compelled.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
Deluded by the three guṇa-constituted states, all this world does not recognize Me — beyond them, imperishable.
Verse 5 of 28 · back to Chapter 8