अर्जुन उवाच किं तद् ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम। अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते॥
Arjuna said “What is Brahma, what is Adhyatma and what is, O best of men, Action? And again, what is (meant by) Adhibhuta, Adhidaiva.
अधियज्ञः कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन् मधुसूदन। प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभिः॥
And Adhiyajna, and how (they are in this body), O destroyer of Madhu? And how, too, are you to be known by those who restrain their selves, at the time of their death”.
श्रीभगवानुवाच अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते। भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसंज्ञितः॥
The great one said “The Brahma is the supreme, and the indestructible. Adhyatma is called its manifestation, and offering (to the divinities) which is the cause of the production and the development of all things, is called Action.
अधिभूतं क्षरो भावः पुरुषश्चाधिदैवतम्। अधियज्ञोऽहमेवात्र देहे देहभृतां वर॥
Adhibhuta is all perishable things. Adhidaiva is the (primal) Male-Being. And O best of men, Adhiyajna is I myself in this body.
अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन् मुक्त्वा कलेवरम्। यः प्रयाति स मद्भायंव याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः॥
He, who casts off this body and departs from this world, remembering Me in his last moments. comes to My essence. There is no doubt in it.
यं यं वापि स्मरन् भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम्। तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः॥
And again, whichever from of divinity he remembers when he finally leaves this body and departs from this world, to him, O son of Kunti, he goes, having habitually meditated upon him.
तस्मात् सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च। मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम्॥
Therefore, think and remember Me at all times, and engage in battle. Fixing your mind and understanding on Me, you will surely come to Me. There is no doubt in it.
अभ्यासयोगयुक्तेन चेतसा नान्यगामिना। परमं पुरुषं दिव्यं याति पार्थानुचिन्तयन्॥
He, who things of the supreme Divine Being, O Partha, with a mind not running to other objects and possessing of concentration of mind in continuous meditation, goes to the Supreme Being.
रमणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद् यः। मादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात्॥ प्रयाणकाले मनसाऽचलेन भक्त्या युक्तो योगबलेन चैव। भूवोर्मध्ये प्राणमावेश्य सम्यक् स तं परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम्॥
He attains to that transcendent and Divine being, who possessed of reverence for Him, with a steady mind and power of devotion, properly concentrating the life breath between the brows, meditates on that ancient Seer, the ruler of all the minutes of the minute, the supporter of all, whose form is inconceivable, whose brilliance is that of the sun and who is beyond all darkness.
यदक्षरं वेदविदो वदन्ति विशन्ति यद्यतयो वीतरागाः। यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति तत्ते पदं संग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये॥
I shall tell you briefly about the seat which the persons, learned in the Vedas, say indestructible, which is entered by ascetics, who are freed from all desires, and which wishing to obtain, men follow the path of Brahmacharis.
सर्वद्वाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च। मूर्ध्याधायात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणाम्॥ ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन् मामनुस्मरन्। यः प्रयाति त्यजन् देहं स याति परमां गतिम्॥
He reaches the highest goal who casts off his body and departs, by stopping all passages (senses), confining the mind within itself, placing his own life-breath between the eyebrows, adhering to uninterrupted meditation, uttering the one syllable Om which is Brahma, and thinking Me.
अनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः। तस्याहं सुलभः पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिनः॥
To that Yogi, O Partha, I am easy of access who always meditate on Me, by withdrawing his mind from all other objects, and who constantly practices abstraction.
मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दुःखालयमशाश्वतम्। नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मानः संसिद्धिं परमां गताः॥
Those high-souled men, who achieve the highest perfection, attaining to Me, do not again take birth, which is the abode of sorrow, and transient.
आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन। मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते॥
All (beings of all) the worlds, O Arjuna, from the world of Brahma, have to take rebirth, But, O son of Kunti, after attaining to Me, there is no rebirth,
सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद् ब्रह्मणो विदुः। रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः॥
Those who know the day of Brahma, as being of one thousand ages, and a night of his, as being of one thousand ages (Yuga) know Day and Night.
अव्यक्ताद् व्यक्तयः सर्वाः प्रभवन्त्यहरागमे। रात्र्यागमे प्रलीयन्ते तत्रैवाव्यक्तसंज्ञके॥
On the advent of Day, all things that are manifest are produced from the unmanifest and on the advent of Night, all things dissolve into that which is called unmanifest.
भूतग्रामः स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते। रात्र्यागमेऽवशः पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे॥
The same assemblage of beings, being manifest (born), again and again, dissolves on the advent of Night, and O Partha, on the advent of Day, they spring forth again, being constrained by the force of actions,
परस्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्योऽव्यक्तोऽव्यक्तात् सनातनः। यः स सर्वेषु भूतेषु नश्यत्सु न विनश्यति॥
But there is another entity, unmanifested and eternal, which is beyond the unmanifested beings, and which is not destroyed when all entities are destroyed.
अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम्। यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम॥
It is called unmanifested and indestructible; they call it the highest goal. Attaining to it, none has to come back,
पुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया। यस्यान्तः स्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदं ततम्॥
The Supreme Being, O Partha, in which all beings dwell, and by whom an beings are permeated, is to be attained by faith, undirected to any other objects.
यत्र काले त्वनावृत्तिमावृतिं चैव योगिनः। प्रयाता यान्ति तं कालं वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ॥
I will state the times, O best of the Bharata race, at which Yogis, departing from this world, go never to return, or, to return.
अग्निोतिरहः शुक्लः षण्मासा उत्तरायणम्। तत्र प्रयाता गच्छन्ति ब्रह्म ब्रह्मविदो जनाः॥
Departing from the world in the Fire, the flame, the Day, the Bright-Fortnight, the Six months of the northern Solstice, one, if he knows Him, goes to Brahma, (never to return again).
धूमो रात्रिस्तथा कृष्णः षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम्। तत्र चान्द्रमसं ज्योतिर्योगी प्राप्य निवर्तते॥
Departing from this world in Smoke, Night, the Dark-Fortnight, the six months of the southern Solstice, one goes to the Lunar Light and returns to the world again.
शुक्लकृष्णे गती ह्येते जगतः शाश्वते मते। एकया यात्यनावृत्तिमन्ययाऽऽवर्तते पुनः॥
The Bright and the Dark, these two paths are considered to be eternal paths in this world. By the one, one goes never to return, by the other, one goes to come back.
नैते सृती पार्थ जानन् योगी मुह्यति कश्चन। तस्मात् सर्वेषु कालेषु योगयुक्तो भवार्जुन॥
Knowing these two paths, O Partha, no Yogi is deluded, and therefore, O Arjuna, at all times, be possessed of a Yoga.
वेदेषु यज्ञेषु तपःसु चैव दानेषु यत् पुण्यफलं प्रदिष्टम्। अत्येति तत्सर्वमिदं विदित्वा योगी परं स्थानमुपैति चाद्यम्॥
The meritorious fruits, prescribed in the Vedas, for sacrifices, for penances, for gifts, knowing all this, a Yogi attains to it, the highest and primeval seat.