🕉️ Chapter 8 – The Imperishable Supreme: Shlokas 1–10
Arjuna now asks profound questions: What is Brahman? What is Karma? What happens at death? Krishna answers by revealing the deepest truths — that the last thought at death defines the next journey, and that remembering the Divine leads to liberation.
📜 Shloka 1–2
अर्जुन उवाच —
किं तद्ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम |
अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते ॥1॥
अधियज्ञः कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन्मधुसूदन |
प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभिः ॥2॥
English Translation:
Arjuna said: What is Brahman? What is the Self? What is Karma, O Supreme Person? What is the material world and the divine reality? Who is the Lord of sacrifice, and how is He known at the time of death?
हिन्दी अनुवाद:
अर्जुन ने पूछा: हे पुरुषोत्तम! ब्रह्म क्या है? अध्यात्म क्या है? कर्म क्या है? अधिभूत क्या है और अधिदैव क्या है? और यह अधियज्ञ कौन है और इस शरीर में कैसे है? मृत्यु के समय ज्ञानी उसे कैसे जान सकते हैं?
🔍 Deep Reflection:
These are the essential spiritual questions. To ask sincerely is already a sign of awakening.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Your real education begins when you start asking: Who am I? What lasts beyond death?
📜 Shloka 3
श्रीभगवानुवाच —
अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते |
भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसञ्ज्ञितः ॥3॥
English Translation:
Krishna said: The Imperishable (Brahman) is the highest Reality. The Self (Adhyatma) is one’s own eternal nature. Karma is the offering which causes the creation of beings.
हिन्दी अनुवाद:
भगवान बोले: ब्रह्म अक्षर और परम है। आत्मा का स्वरूप अध्यात्म है। और जो जीवों की उत्पत्ति का कारण बनता है, वही कर्म है।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
Brahman is the changeless truth. Karma is the creative force — the motion that binds or liberates.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Your being is eternal — but your doing decides your direction.
📜 Shloka 4
अधिभूतं क्षरो भावः पुरुषश्चाधिदैवतं |
अधियज्ञोऽहमेवात्र देहे देहभृतां वर ॥4॥
English Translation:
The perishable (body and elements) is Adhibhuta. The Supreme Being is Adhidaiva. I Myself, in this body, am Adhiyajna — the Lord of all sacrifice.
हिन्दी अनुवाद:
हे देहधारियों में श्रेष्ठ! अधिभूत वह है जो नश्वर है, अधिदैव पुरुष है, और मैं ही इस शरीर में अधियज्ञ (यज्ञस्वरूप) हूँ।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
Everything you see will pass. But the Divine within — the Yajna Purusha — remains.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Sacrifice isn’t just ritual — it’s the Divine principle present in you.
📜 Shloka 5
अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम् |
यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः ॥5॥
English Translation:
Whoever remembers Me at the time of death, leaves the body and comes to Me. Of this, there is no doubt.
हिन्दी अनुवाद:
जो व्यक्ति मृत्यु के समय मुझे ही स्मरण करता है और शरीर त्याग करता है, वह मेरे स्वरूप को प्राप्त करता है — इसमें कोई संदेह नहीं।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
The final thought carries you to your next reality. So live in such a way that God is always in your heart.
🪔 Modern Insight:
The mind you die with is the momentum you carry forward. Train it now.
📜 Shloka 6
यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् |
तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः ॥6॥
English Translation:
Whatever state of being one remembers at the time of death — that state he attains, O Arjuna, being always absorbed in it.
हिन्दी अनुवाद:
हे कौन्तेय! जो भाव मृत्यु के समय जिस भाव में रहता है — वही भाव वह अगले जीवन में प्राप्त करता है।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
This is the science of consciousness. You become what you constantly think about — especially at the end.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Your habits of thought are your afterlife passport. Choose wisely, live mindfully.
📜 Shloka 7
तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च |
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम् ॥7॥
English Translation:
Therefore, always remember Me and fight. With your mind and intellect dedicated to Me, you will surely come to Me.
हिन्दी अनुवाद:
इसलिए, सभी समयों में मुझे स्मरण करते हुए युद्ध कर। मन और बुद्धि मुझे अर्पण कर — तू निःसंदेह मुझे प्राप्त करेगा।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
Spirituality doesn’t mean withdrawing from action — it means acting with Divine remembrance.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Do your duties — but keep your inner screen tuned to the Divine channel.
📜 Shloka 8
अभ्यासयोगयुक्तेन चेतसा नान्यगामिना |
परमं पुरुषं दिव्यं याति पार्थानुचिन्तयन् ॥8॥
English Translation:
With a mind trained in the yoga of practice, undistracted by anything else, one reaches the Supreme Divine Person by constant meditation.
हिन्दी अनुवाद:
योगाभ्यास द्वारा, अनन्यचित्त होकर, जो परम पुरुष का निरंतर चिंतन करता है — वह उसे प्राप्त कर लेता है।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
Focus isn’t forced — it’s formed by repeated returning.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Practice like your freedom depends on it — because it does.
📜 Shloka 9
कविं पुराणमनुशासितारमणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्यः |
सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूपमादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् ॥9॥
English Translation:
One should remember the Supreme Person — the all-knowing, timeless, ruler of all, subtler than the subtlest, the sustainer of all, beyond darkness, radiant like the sun.
हिन्दी अनुवाद:
जो व्यक्ति उस कवी (ज्ञानी), पुरातन, शासक, सूक्ष्म से भी सूक्ष्म, सबके धारणकर्ता, अचिंत्य रूपवाले, अंधकार से परे, सूर्य के समान प्रकाशमान को स्मरण करता है —
🔍 Deep Reflection:
This is not just remembering a being — it's tuning to the Infinite, beyond form, yet full of light.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Your mind becomes what it meditates on. Let it shine on the eternal.
📜 Shloka 10
प्रयाणकाले मनसाचलेन भक्त्या युक्तो योगबलेन चैव |
भ्रुवोर्मध्ये प्राणमावेश्य सम्यक् स तं परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम् ॥10॥
English Translation:
At the time of death, with a steady mind, full of devotion and power of yoga, fixing the life-breath between the eyebrows — one attains that Supreme Divine Person.
हिन्दी अनुवाद:
मृत्यु के समय, अचल मन और भक्ति से युक्त होकर, योगबल द्वारा प्राण को भृकुटि के बीच में स्थिर करता है — वह परम पुरुष को प्राप्त करता है।
🔍 Deep Reflection:
This is the yogic path of conscious dying — not with fear, but with freedom.
🪔 Modern Insight:
Live with such awareness that even death becomes a doorway, not a defeat.
🌱 Ancient Verse – Modern Wisdom Table
| Gita Insight | Modern Life Lesson |
|---|---|
| The last thought defines your next journey | Train your mind now — don't wait for the end |
| Spiritual remembrance must be constant | Embed awareness into daily action |
| Supreme truth is subtle, radiant, timeless | Truth is not loud — it’s luminous |
| Focused practice leads to liberation | Don’t try to escape the world. See through it. |
🧘 Message to Gen Z: Awareness Is the New Superpower
- 🔋 The energy you carry into death is built in your daily life.
- 📿 You don’t have to run to the Himalayas — make your breath your pilgrimage.
- 🕊️ Death isn’t darkness for the aware — it’s just changing clothes with full consciousness.
- 🎯 Don’t chase a perfect end. Live with perfect attention now.
➡️ Up Next: Shlokas 11–28 – Paths of Light & Darkness, The Supreme Path Beyond Time