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Bhagavad-gītā 9.21

ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्गलोकं विशालं क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति । एवं त्रयीधर्ममनुप्रपन्ना गतागतं कामकामा लभन्ते ॥ २१ ॥
te taṁ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṁ viśālaṁ
[te tam bhuktvaa svarga-lokam vishaalam]
kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti
[ksheene punye martya-lokam vishanti]
evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā
[evam trayee-dharmam anuprapannaa]
gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante
[gataagatam kaama-kaamaa labhante]
Word-for-word
te — they tam — that bhuktvā — having enjoyed svarga - lokam — heaven viśālam — vast kṣīṇe — being exhausted puṇye — the results of their pious activities martya - lokam — to the mortal earth viśanti — fall down evam — thus trayī — of the three Vedas dharmam — doctrines anuprapannāḥ — following gata - āgatam — death and birth kāma - kāmāḥ — desiring sense enjoyments labhante — attain .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
te taṁ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṁ viśālaṁ
te
they
tam
that
bhuktvā
having enjoyed
svarga - lokam
heaven
viśālam
vast
kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti
kṣīṇe
being exhausted
puṇye
the results of their pious activities
martya - lokam
to the mortal earth
viśanti
fall down
evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā
evam
thus
trayī
of the three Vedas
dharmam
doctrines
anuprapannāḥ
following
gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante
gata - āgatam
death and birth
kāma - kāmāḥ
desiring sense enjoyments
labhante
attain .
Important Words
  • bhuktvā — having enjoyed
    Absolutive of √bhuj — to enjoy, consume. Tense matters: bhuktvā, having-enjoyed. The verse opens by acknowledging real enjoyment; it does not dismiss heaven as illusion. It dismisses heaven as finite.
  • svarga - lokam — the heavenly planet
    Svarga + loka — the heaven-region. A real cosmic location in the Vedic frame. Vast (viśālam) and pleasant — but still a loka, with a perimeter and a clock.
  • kṣīṇe — when exhausted
    Locative of kṣīṇa — worn out, depleted. Locative absolute with puṇye: 'merit being exhausted.' The mathematics is exact: heaven is paid for in puṇya; the moment of kṣīṇa is the moment the bill comes due.
  • puṇye — merit (locative)
    Locative of puṇya — pious merit. The currency of heavenly elevation. Heaven is exactly as long as the puṇya account holds — neither longer nor shorter.
  • martya - lokam — the mortal planet
    Martya (mortal) + loka — the death-planet. The return address is precisely where they came from. The cycle is sealed; ascension is not escape.
  • trayī — the threefold (Veda)
    The threefold — the three Vedas (Ṛg, Sāma, Yajur) taken as a unit. Trayī-dharma is the karma-kāṇḍa Vedic religion. Kṛṣṇa contrasts it with the rāja-vidyā of 9.2: both are dharma; only one delivers escape velocity.
  • dharmam — the religious principle
    Accusative of dharma — qualified here by trayī. Vedic ritual religion in its karma-kāṇḍa face. The verse does not condemn it — it precisely accounts for what it can and cannot deliver.
  • gata - āgatam — going and coming
    Gata (gone) + āgata (come back). Cyclic existence in one compact word. Kāma-kāmāḥ labhante — they get only this oscillation. The most precise diagnosis of saṁsāra's geometry in a single phrase.
  • kāma - kāmāḥ — desirers of desires
    Kāma (desire) + kāmā (desirer). 'Desire-desirers' — they desire to keep desiring. The pathology behind the cycle: not just desire but desire for desire, the refusal to be released.
When they have thus enjoyed vast heavenly sense pleasure and the results of their pious activities are exhausted, they return to this mortal planet again. Thus those who seek sense enjoyment by adhering to the principles of the three Vedas achieve only repeated birth and death.
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)
Heaven is real but exhaustible. When the merit-account empties, the soul re-enters martyaloka. The trayī-dharma, pursued for kāma, yields only the round-trip ticket: gatāgatam, going-and-coming. It is fair but not freeing.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
The verse coins one of the Gītā's most memorable diagnoses — kāma-kāmāḥ (those whose desire is itself desire). Even the holiest fruitive religion, when aimed at enjoyment, trades within saṁsāra. The contrast with the bhakta of 9.22 will be the sharpest in the chapter. Cross-ref Kaṭha Up. 1.2.6, Bhāgavata 5.6.4.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
ते तं विशालं स्वर्ग-लोकं भुक्त्वा, क्षीणे पुण्ये, मर्त्य-लोकं विशन्ति । एवं त्रयी-धर्मम् अनुप्रपन्नाः काम-कामाः (जनाः) गत-आगतं लभन्ते ।
te taṃ viśālaṃ svarga-lokaṃ bhuktvā, kṣīṇe puṇye, martya-lokaṃ viśanti | evaṃ trayī-dharmam anuprapannāḥ kāma-kāmāḥ (janāḥ) gata-āgataṃ labhante |
Having enjoyed that vast heavenly world, when their merit is exhausted they enter the mortal world. Thus, those who follow the dharma of the three Vedas, desiring desires, obtain (only) coming-and-going.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्ग-लोकं विशालं क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्य-लोकं विशन्ति । एवं त्रयी-धर्मम् अनुप्रपन्नाः गत-आगतं काम-कामाः लभन्ते ॥
te taṃ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṃ viśālaṃ kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṃ viśanti | evaṃ trayī-dharmam anuprapannāḥ gata-āgataṃ kāma-kāmāḥ labhante ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
ते te dem. (demonstrative) pron. (pronoun) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. they
तम् tam dem. (demonstrative) pron. (pronoun) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. that
भुक्त्वा bhuktvā √भुज् abs. (absolutive) having enjoyed
स्वर्ग-लोकम् svarga-lokam स्वर्ग + लोक (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) heavenly realm
विशालम् viśālam विशाल (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)m. vast
क्षीणे kṣīṇe √क्षि p.p.p. (past passive participle) loc.sg. (locative singular)n., loc. absolute when exhausted
पुण्ये puṇye पुण्य (n.) loc.sg. (locative singular) in merit
मर्त्य-लोकम् martya-lokam मर्त्य + लोक (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), karmadhāraya cpd. (compound) mortal world
विशन्ति viśanti √विश् pres. (present) 3pl.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) they enter
एवम् evam ind. (indeclinable), manner thus
त्रयी-धर्मम् trayī-dharmam त्रयी + धर्म (m.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (dharma of the three Vedas) three-Veda dharma
अनुप्रपन्नाः anuprapannāḥ अनु+प्र+√पद् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. following
गत-आगतम् gata-āgatam गत + आगत (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular), dvandva cpd. (compound) going-and-coming
काम-कामाः kāma-kāmāḥ काम + काम (adj.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., bahuvrīhi cpd. (desiring desires) desiring desires
लभन्ते labhante √लभ् pres. (present) 3pl.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) they obtain
Purport

One who is promoted to the higher planetary systems enjoys a longer duration of life and better facilities for sense enjoyment, yet one is not allowed to stay there forever. One is again sent back to this earth upon finishing the resultant fruits of pious activities. He who has not attained perfection of knowledge, as indicated in the Vedānta-sūtra ( janmādy asya yataḥ ), or, in other words, he who fails to understand Kṛṣṇa, the cause of all causes, becomes baffled about achieving the ultimate goal of life and is thus subjected to the routine of being promoted to the higher planets and then again coming down, as if situated on a ferris wheel which sometimes goes up and sometimes comes down. The purport is that instead of being elevated to the spiritual world, from which there is no longer any possibility of coming down, one simply revolves in the cycle of birth and death on higher and lower planetary systems. One should better take to the spiritual world to enjoy an eternal life full of bliss and knowledge and never return to this miserable material existence.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
21. Having enjoyed the vast pleasures of Svarga and exhausting their merit, they return to this planet. Following the rites of the three Vedas, desiring objects of enjoyment, they take repeated birth and death.
Commentary

Being filled with desires for enjoyment, they take repeated birth and death (gatāgatam).

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
21. Having enjoyed the vast pleasures of svarga and exhausting their merit, they return to this planet. Following the rites of the three Vedas again, desiring objects of enjoyment, they take repeated birth and death.
Commentary

These people who prayed for svarga, having enjoyed svarga loka, with the depletion of pious acts which brought them there, enter the world of death. They attain births as brāhmaṇas and others on this earth according to the process mentioned in the knowledge of the five fires. [Note: The five fires are explained by Baladeva in his commentary on verse 3, chapter 8.] Again performing the duties enjoined in the three Vedas, these desirers of sense objects, desiring the enjoyment of svarga (kāma kāmāḥ), obtain repeated birth in this world (gatāgatam).

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

But on the other hand,

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

COMMON THEME: Result of Demigod worship mentioned here

Demigod worshippers worship Krishna only, but indirectly
They study the Vedas, drink the Soma juice, seeking the heavenly planets
Path of demigod worshipers
Purified of sinful reactions, they take birth on the pious, heavenly planet of Indra where they enjoy Godly delights
After exhausting the result of their pious activity, they return to this mortal planet again
Thus this path only offers repeated birth and death

LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 9.21 & 9.22: Texts 20 – 21 explains : “How demigods obtain the necessities of life”

Text 22 explains: “How unalloyed devotees are maintained and receive their necessities”

Focus of Learning

(a) Ultimate goal for Tri-vedis is Krishna only (9.20)

Actual Tri-vedis take shelter of lotus feet of Krishna and engage in devotional service
By chanting Hare Krishna,
And by cultivating knowledge of Krishna

(b) Simply official students of Vedas are only interested in sacrifice to demigods

Have not attained the perfection of knowledge which is to know the “Source of all” (‘Janmady asya yatah’)
Only benefits achieved:
Gets purified of lower modes
Elevation to heavenly planets with longer life and better sense gratification

(c) Disadvantage of heavenly planets as the goal

Comes back to the earth – Cycle of birth and death ‘after exhausting pious deeds’
Analogy: “Ferris wheel” compared to “Cycle of birth and death” (study 9.21 purport)
Solution offered to avoid repeated birth and death: Make spiritual world as your goal

(a) ‘Immortality’ – The energy which sustains us and which prolongs the duration of life

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
9.21 Bhuktva, after having enjoyed; tam, that: visalam, vast; svargalokam, heavenly world; te, they; visanti, enter into; this martyalokam, human world; ksine, on the exhaustion; of their punye, merit. Evam, thus, indeed; anuprapannah, those who follow in the manner described; trai-dharmyam, [A variant reading is trayi-dharmam.-Tr.] the rites and duties prescribed in the three Vedas-merely the Vedic rites and duties; and are kama-kamah, desirous of pleasures; labhante, attain; only gata-agatam, the state of going and returning, but never that of independence. This is the meaning.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
9.21 After enjoying the spacious world of heaven, they return to the world of mortals when the meritorious Karma forming the cause of that experience is exhausted. Thus, lacking in the knowledge established in the Vedanta and desiring only the attainment of heaven etc., they who follow the teaching of the three Vedas on sacrificial rites, come and go. After enjoying the trifling and transient pleasures of heaven, they return to Samsara again and again. But the great souls meditating on Me, who am incomparably dear to them, attain boundless and unsurpassed bliss and do not return to Samsara. Sri Krsna desribes their distinguishing features:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
9.20-21 Traividyah etc. Te tam etc. Of course, they worship Me (Vasudeva) alone. However, the action [like sacrifice] is limited (or is known [to them]) by their aspiration for heaven only. Hence, on account of the weakness is their own being (sattva), they condition the action solely by the result of the heaven. That is why their religious act leads to rirth and thus they attain the state of going and coming. But [on that account] it is not the inherent nature of the sacrifice to beget rirth. For instance :
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
9.21 They, having enjoyed the vast heaven, enter the world of mortals when their merit is exhausted; thus abiding by the injunctions of the ï1threeï1 (Vedas) and desiring (objects of) desires, they attain to the state of going and returning.
Commentary

9.21 ते they? तम् that? भुक्त्वा having enjoyed? स्वर्गलोकम् heavenworld? विशालम् vast? क्षीणे at the exhaustion of? पुण्ये merit? मर्त्यलोकम् the world of mortals? विशन्ति enter? एवम् thus? त्रयीधर्मम् of the three Vedas? अनुप्रपन्नाः abiding by? गतागतम् the state of goind and returning? कामकामाः desiring desires? लभन्ते attain.Commentary When the accumulated merit (the cause of heavenly pleasures) is exhausted? they descend to this world. They come and go. They have no independence.The Dharma of the three Mere Vedic ritual? enjoined by the three Vedas. KamaKamah The people whose minds are filled with Vasanas or worldly tendencies.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
9.21 After having enjoyed that vast heavenly world, they enter into the human world on the exhaustion of their merit. Thus, those who follow the rites and duties prescribed in the three Vedas, and are desirous of pleasures, attain the state of going and returning.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
9.21 Yet although they enjoy the spacious glories of Paradise, nevertheless, when their merit is exhausted, they are born again into this world of mortals. They have followed the letter of the scriptures, yet because they have sought but to fulfill their own desires, they must depart and return again and again.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 9.20 BG 8.25 BG 8.16 SB 11.10.26 SB 3.32.2 SB 5.14.29 CC Madhya 19.149 CC Madhya 20.117 CC Madhya 24.191 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.1.26Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.9
Concepts
Dharma
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Having enjoyed in heaven, when their pious credit is exhausted, they return — those who follow Vedic ritual aiming at sense pleasure repeatedly come and go.
Practical Applications
  • Don't envy 'heavenly' enjoyments — they exhaust and return you.
  • Choose unending Kṛṣṇa over expiring heaven.
  • Use this verse during temptation toward 'higher' material pleasure.
Reflection Questions
  • What returnable pleasure am I aiming at?
  • What unending pleasure is also available?
Analogy

A lottery winner spends the prize over many years; one day he goes to the bank and the account is closed. Heaven is the most expensive prize the cosmos can hand out — and it too closes. Kṣīṇe puṇye — when the merit is spent, the elevator descends. Vedic lottery returns its winners to the mortal floor; sense-seeking circles forever.

Stories
King Nahuṣa, briefly Indra

When Indra fled in shame after slaying Vṛtra (himself a brahmin), the gods elevated King Nahuṣa to the throne of heaven on the strength of his immense puṇya. Nahuṣa enjoyed the deva-bhogas, demanded Indra's queen Śacī as his consort, and rode in a palanquin carried by sages.

In his arrogance he kicked the sage Agastya, who cursed him to fall as a serpent. His puṇya — vast as it had been — was kṣīṇa, exhausted by misuse, and he viśanti martya-lokam — he re-entered the mortal world, not even as a king but as a python in the forest. The verse 9.21 in narrative compression: heaven lifts you, heaven drops you, when the account is spent.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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