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Bhagavad-gītā 8.21

अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहु: परमां गतिम् । यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥ २१ ॥
avyakto ’kṣara ity uktas
[avyakto ’kshara ity uktas]
tam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim
[tam aahuh paramaam gatim]
yaṁ prāpya na nivartante
[yam praapya na nivartante]
tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
[tad dhaama paramam mama]
Word-for-word
avyaktaḥ — unmanifested akṣaraḥ — infallible iti — thus uktaḥ — is said tam — that āhuḥ — is known paramām — the ultimate gatim — destination yam — which prāpya — gaining na — never nivartante — come back tat — that dhāma — abode paramam — supreme mama — My .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
avyakto ’kṣara ity uktas
avyaktaḥ
unmanifested
akṣaraḥ
infallible
iti
thus
uktaḥ
is said
tam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim
tam
that
āhuḥ
is known
paramām
the ultimate
gatim
destination
yaṁ prāpya na nivartante
yam
which
prāpya
gaining
na
never
nivartante
come back
tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
tat
that
dhāma
abode
paramam
supreme
mama
My .
Important Words
  • avyaktaḥ — unmanifested
    The same word that named material pre-manifestation in 8.18 here names the spiritual unmanifest. Avyakta therefore has two scopes: the material-unmanifest of pralaya, and the spiritual-unmanifest of Kṛṣṇa's abode. The student must learn to track which is meant by context.
  • akṣaraḥ — infallible
    A-kṣara — non-perishing. The same word used for Brahman in 8.3 and 8.11 and for the syllable oṁ in 8.13. The Gītā uses akṣara across the spiritual register — soul, syllable, abode are all imperishable, sharing in the same character.
  • paramām gatim — the ultimate destination
    Paramā (supreme) + gati (destination). The 'highest going-to-place'. Repeated from 8.13, where it named the spiritual planets attained by the dying oṁ-vibrator. Here the same compound names Kṛṣṇa's abode — the chapter is closing its circle.
  • prāpya — gaining
    Absolutive of pra + āp — to attain, to reach. 'Having reached'. The same root as prāpti (attainment). The action is one of arrival; the abode is treated as a place to be reached, not a state realized.
  • na nivartante — never come back
    Ni + vṛt (to turn) — to turn back. With negation: 'they do not turn back'. The same root as āvartin in 8.16 — the contrast is exact. There, every other destination is āvartin; here, this destination is nivartana-free.
  • dhāma paramam — supreme abode
    Dhāma (abode, holy place) + paramam (supreme). Dhāma is a rich word — from dhā, to place — meaning 'place-where-one-is-set'. It connotes not just real estate but a holy presence. The dhāma of Vṛndāvana, of Kṛṣṇa, of holy names — same word.
  • mama — My
    Possessive — 'Mine'. The verse closes with the first-person possessive: it is Kṛṣṇa's own abode. Not Brahman's, not the deity-pantheon's — Kṛṣṇa's. The personalism is final, asserted by a single one-syllable pronoun.
That which the Vedāntists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns – that is My supreme abode.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
Kṛṣṇa identifies the higher avyakta of 8.20: it is what the Vedāntic tradition labels 'unmanifest, imperishable' and calls the highest goal. He then claims it: 'that is My supreme dhāman.' The verse personalizes what had seemed an abstract metaphysical pole.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
'Dhāman' is the Ṛg-vedic word for the place or station of a deity; the Upaniṣads ascribe a 'parama dhāma' to the Person beyond all (cf. Kaṭha 3.9). Kṛṣṇa here equates the Vedāntic-impersonal 'akṣara/avyakta paramā gati' with 'mama dhāman,' the Vaiṣṇava paravyoma. The return-clause echoes Chāndogya 8.15.1 (na ca punarāvartate).
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
[यः सः] 'अव्यक्तः अक्षरः' इति उक्तः, तम् परमाम् गतिम् आहुः। यम् प्राप्य [जनाः] न निवर्तन्ते, तत् मम परमम् धाम।
[yaḥ saḥ] 'avyaktaḥ akṣaraḥ' iti uktaḥ, tam paramām gatim āhuḥ| yam prāpya [janāḥ] na nivartante, tat mama paramam dhāma|
[That] which is called 'unmanifest, imperishable' — that they declare the supreme goal. Having attained which one does not return — that is My supreme abode.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
अव्यक्तः अक्षरः इति उक्तः तम् आहुः परमाम् गतिम् । यम् प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तत् धाम परमम् मम ॥
avyaktaḥ akṣaraḥ iti uktaḥ tam āhuḥ paramām gatim | yam prāpya na nivartante tat dhāma paramam mama ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
अव्यक्तः avyaktaḥ अ + व्यक्त nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. unmanifest
अक्षरः akṣaraḥ अ + क्षर (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. imperishable
इति iti ind. (indeclinable), quotative thus
उक्तः uktaḥ √वच् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. called
तम् tam तद् dem. (demonstrative) pron. (pronoun) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. that
आहुः āhuḥ √अह् perf. (perfect) 3pl.par. (defective, w. pres. (present) sense) they say, declare
परमाम् paramām परम (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)f. supreme
गतिम् gatim गति (f.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) goal
यम् yam यद् rel. pron. (pronoun) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. which
प्राप्य prāpya प्र + √आप् abs. (lyap) having attained
न na ind. (indeclinable), negation not
निवर्तन्ते nivartante नि + √वृत् pres. (present) 3pl.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) they return
तत् tat तद् dem. (demonstrative) pron. (pronoun) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. that
धाम dhāma धामन् (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) abode
परमम् paramam परम (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. supreme
मम mama अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) gen.sg. (genitive singular) My
Purport

The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā as cintāmaṇi-dhāma, a place where all desires are fulfilled. The supreme abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa, known as Goloka Vṛndāvana, is full of palaces made of touchstone. There are also trees, called “desire trees,” that supply any type of eatable upon demand, and there are cows, known as surabhi cows, which supply a limitless supply of milk. In this abode, the Lord is served by hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune (Lakṣmīs), and He is called Govinda, the primal Lord and the cause of all causes. The Lord is accustomed to blow His flute ( veṇuṁ kvaṇantam ). His transcendental form is the most attractive in all the worlds – His eyes are like lotus petals, and the color of His body is like the color of clouds. He is so attractive that His beauty excels that of thousands of Cupids. He wears saffron cloth, a garland around His neck and a peacock feather in His hair. In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa gives only a small hint of His personal abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, which is the supermost planet in the spiritual kingdom. A vivid description is given in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Vedic literatures ( Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.11) state that there is nothing superior to the abode of the Supreme Godhead, and that that abode is the ultimate destination ( puruṣān na paraṁ kiñcit sā kāṣṭhā paramā gatiḥ ). When one attains to it, he never returns to the material world. Kṛṣṇa’s supreme abode and Kṛṣṇa Himself are nondifferent, being of the same quality. On this earth, Vṛndāvana, ninety miles southeast of Delhi, is a replica of that supreme Goloka Vṛndāvana located in the spiritual sky. When Kṛṣṇa descended on this earth, He sported on that particular tract of land known as Vṛndāvana, comprising about 168 square miles in the district of Mathurā, India.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
21. That which was described as eternal and unmanifest is called the supreme goal. Attaining that eternal form, they do not return.
Commentary

The word avyakta of the previous verse is explained. That which is avyakta is without destruction (akṣara): Nārāyaṇa. As the śruti says, eko nārāyaṇa āsīn na brahmā na ca śaṅkaraḥ: only Nārāyaṇa existed, and not Brahmā or Śiva. [Note: eko ha vai nārāyaṇa āsīn na brahmā neśāno is found in the Mahā Upaniṣad. The quotation is probably another version of the same passage.] Attaining My eternal form (mama paramaṁ dhāma), they do not return. The word akṣara may also be interpreted as the impersonal Brahman, in which case dhāma paramaṁ mama means “My form of light,” since dhāma also means “light.” [Note: This would be the attainment for jñānīs and yogīs who also perform a small amount of bhakti without offense.]

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
21. That which I have described as eternal and unmanifest is called the supreme goal by the followers of Vedānta. Attaining that splendid form of Mine, they do not return.
Commentary

That object which I call avyakta and akṣaraṁ is called by the knowers of the Veda as the supreme goal. puruṣān na paraṁ kiṁcit sā kāṣṭhā paramā gatiḥ There is nothing superior to this person. He is the highest, supreme goal. Kaṭha Upaniṣad 3.11 Attaining that object people do not take birth again. That object is Myself: My splendid (paramam) svarūpa (dhāma). The use of the possessive (My svarūpa) is similar to saying “Consciousness is the svarūpa of the jīva.” [Note: It does not indicate that the Lord is different from his form.]

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

That 'dhama', that place composed of the internal energy of the Lord, has nothing to do with the material modes, that is Krsna's eternal abode. In that place the exchanges (rasa), between Krsna and His devotees are going on eternally. That is what we are looking for. The next verse is a comparison between the material and spiritual worlds. Krsna explains it to awaken within us the desire to get out of here ‑ to go to that eternal place from where we don't come back.

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study Key verse
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

COMMON THEME: Describes the spiritual world, the abode of the Lord.

The Spiritual world is:

1. Eternal – Free from birth and death

2. Infallible, because Krishna’s superior energy is opposite to material energy in quality

3. Full of unlimited bliss, as opposed to the material world which is full of miseries

4. Fulfils all desires

5. All attractive

6. Unmanifest to mundane eyes

7. Transcendental to manifest and unmanifest (difference from material world – repeatedly manifest

and unmanifest) – Lord’s abode never changes like material world / Composed of cit-sakti

8. Supreme destination

9. A place of no return

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
8.21 He Himself who has been uktah, meantioned; as avyaktah, Unmanifest; the aksarah, Immutable; ahuh, they call; tam, Him-that very unmanifest Reality which is termed as the Immutable; the paramam, supreme; gatim, Goal. Tat, That; is the paramam, supreme; dhama, abode, i.e. the supreme State; mama, of Mine, of Visnu; yam prapya, reaching which Reality; na nivartante, they do not return to the worldly state. The means for gaining That is being stated:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
8.20 - 8.21 Superior, as an object of human end, to this unmanifest (Avyakta), which is inanimate Prakrti, there is another state of being, of a kind different from this, but also called Avyakta. It has only knowledge-form and is also unmanifest. It is the self, Atman. It is unmanifest because It cannot be apprehended by any means of knowledge (Pramanas). The meaning is that Its nature is unie and that It can be known only to Itself. That is, It can be understood only vaguely in the ordinary ways of knowing. It is eternal, namely, ever-enduring, because It is not subject to origination and annihilation. In texts like 'For those who meditate on the imperishable, undefinable, the unmanifest' (12.3) and 'The imperishable is called the unchanging' (15.16) - that being the self. It has been called the unmanifest (Avyakta) and imperishable (Aksara); when all material elements like ether, etc., with their causes and effects are annihilated, the self is not annihilated in spite of It being found alone with all the elements. [The elements are what constitute the bodies of beings.] The knowers of the Vedas declare It as the highest end. The meaning is that the imperishable entity which has been denoted by the term 'highest goal' in the passage, 'Whosoever abandons the body and departs (in the manner described) reaches the highest state (Dhama)' (8.13), is the self (Atman) abiding in Its essential nature free from the contact with the Prakrti. This self, which abides thus in Its essential nature, by attaining which It does not return, - this is My 'highest abode,' i.e., is the highest object of My control. The inanimate Prakrti is one object of My control. The animate Prakrti associated with this inanimate Prakrti is the second object of My control. The pristine nature of the freed self, free from contact with inanimate matter, is the highest object of My rule. Such is the meaning. This state is also one of non-return to Samsara. Or the term 'dhama' may signify 'luminosity'. And luminosity connotes knowledge. The essential nature of the freed self is boundless knowledge, or supreme light, which stands in contrast to the shrunken knowledge of the self, when involved in Prakrti. [The description given above is that of Kaivalya, the state of self-luminous existence as the pure self]. Sri Krsna now teaches that the object of attainment for the Jnanin, is totally different from this:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
8.21 See Comment under 8.22
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
8.21 What is called the Unmanifested and the Imperishable, That they say is the highest goal. They who reach It do not return (to this Samsara). That is My highest abode (place or state).
Commentary

8.21 अव्यक्तः unmanifested? अक्षरः imperishable? इति thus? उक्तः called? तम् That? आहुः (they) say? परमाम् the highest? गतिम् goal (path)? यम् which? प्राप्य having reached? न not? निवर्तन्ते return? तत् that? धाम abode (place or state)? परमम् highest? मम My.Commentary Para Brahman is called the Unmanifested because It cannot be perceived by the senses. It is called the Imperishable also. It is allpervading? allpermeating and interpenetrating. Para Brahman is the highest Goal. There is nothing higher than It. This is the true nondual state free from all sorts of limiting adjuncts. The attainment of Brahmaloka (the region of the Creator) etc.? is inferior to this. Only by realising the Self is one liberated from Samsara. (Cf.XII.3?XV.6)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
8.21 He who has been mentioned as the Unmanifested, the Immutable, they call Him the supreme Goal. That is the supreme abode of Mine, reaching which they do not return.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
8.21 The wise say that the Unmanifest and Indestructible is the highest goal of all; when once That is reached, there is no return. That is My Blessed Home.
Related values & verses
Related values
Prema (Divine Love)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)Svadhyaya (Self-study & Scripture Study)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)
Related verses
BG 15.6 BG 18.62 BG 8.15 SB 2.2.31 SB 10.14.58 SB 11.24.14 CC Madhya 21.50 CC Ādi 5.22 CC Madhya 22.15 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.9Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.9
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
That unmanifest is called supreme and eternal — that is My supreme abode; reaching there, one does not return.
Practical Applications
  • Aim for the supreme abode explicitly.
  • Use this language in your prayers and aspirations.
  • Don't shy from the cosmic specificity of the Gītā.
Reflection Questions
  • Have I generalized away the specific 'supreme abode' language?
  • What does specificity restore?
Analogy

Kṛṣṇa's supreme abode is like the lighthouse the sailor's grandfather pointed out from the harbor — far, visible only on clear nights, but unmoving. The verse names it with two pairs of words: avyakta and akṣara (unmanifest, infallible), paramā gati and parama dhāma (supreme destination, supreme abode). The repetition is a finger pointing four times to one direction.

Stories
Vaikuṇṭha through the Six Gosvāmīs' eyes

Sanātana Gosvāmī's Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta narrates the long ascent through the various spiritual realms — culminating in Kṛṣṇa-Goloka, the highest dhāma. The narrative is built precisely around 8.21's claim: that there is a paramam dhāma, that arriving there means not returning, and that the various lower attainments — even Vaikuṇṭha — are surpassed by it.

For the Gauḍīya line, 'My supreme abode' in this verse is Goloka Vṛndāvana, the highest of the spiritual planets. The Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta unpacks what the Gītā here merely names.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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