Verse 8.6
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् | तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः ||६||
Transliteration (IAST)
yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram | taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ ||6||
Word-by-Word Meanings
yam yam-whatever
smaran-remembering
bhāvam-state of being
tyajati-gives up
ante-at the end
kalevaram-the body
sadā-always
tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ-absorbed in that thought
Translation
Whatever state of being one remembers when leaving the body at death, that state one will attain without fail, O son of Kunti, being always absorbed in that thought.
Commentary
Krishna extends the principle to a universal law: the dominant thought at death shapes the next birth. Shankaracharya emphasizes that this is not merely about the final moment but about habitual patterns of consciousness cultivated throughout life. One naturally thinks at death of what one has contemplated most deeply during life.
Themes
karmatimejnana