Verse 15.4
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः | तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी ||४||
Transliteration (IAST)
tataḥ padaṁ tat parimārgitavyaṁ yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ | tam eva cādyaṁ puruṣaṁ prapadye yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī ||4||
Word-by-Word Meanings
Translation
Then one must seek that supreme abode from which, having gone, one never returns, saying: 'I take refuge in that primeval Person from whom this ancient activity has streamed forth.'
Commentary
Shankaracharya notes the transition from jnana (cutting the tree) to bhakti (taking refuge in the Supreme Person). This verse bridges the metaphor of the tree with the chapter's ultimate teaching about Purushottama. Ramanuja sees this as establishing prapatti (surrender) as the means to reach the eternal abode. Madhva emphasizes that the 'ancient activity' refers to the beginningless flow of creation from Vishnu.