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← Chapter 5: The Yoga of Renunciation of Action

Verse 5.17

Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit

तद्बुद्धयस्तदात्मानस्तन्निष्ठास्तत्परायणाः। गच्छन्त्यपुनरावृत्तिं ज्ञाननिर्धूतकल्मषाः।।

Transliteration (IAST)

tad-buddhayas tad-ātmānas tan-niṣṭhās tat-parāyaṇāḥ। gacchanty apunar-āvṛttiṁ jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ।।

Word-by-Word Meanings

तद्बुद्धयः-those whose intellect is fixed on That
तदात्मानः-those whose self is That
तन्निष्ठाः-established in That
तत्परायणाः-devoted to That
अपुनरावृत्तिम्-non-return (liberation)
कल्मषाः-impurities

Translation

Those whose intellect is absorbed in That, whose self is That, who are established in That, who have That as their supreme goal - they go to the state of no return, their impurities washed away by knowledge.

Commentary

This verse describes complete absorption in Brahman through four progressive stages: intellectual understanding, self-identification, firm establishment, and total devotion. Such complete immersion in the Supreme, combined with the purifying power of knowledge, leads to final liberation with no return to saṁsāra.

Themes

jnanamokshaatman