8.21
अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम् ।
यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥
avyakto 'kṣara ity uktas tam āhuḥ paramāṃ gatim
yaṃ prāpya na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṃ mama
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) continues. The being of 8.20 receives its names, and he calls the abode his.
The verse
Called the unmanifest, the imperishable, that is what they name the supreme goal. Having reached it, they do not return. That is my supreme abode.
नेपालीमा
अव्यक्त भनिएको अविनाशीलाई तिनीहरू सर्वोच्च लक्ष्य भन्छन्, र त्यहाँ पुगेपछि तिनीहरू फर्किँदैनन्। त्यो मेरो परम धाम हो।
Where it sits
The higher unmanifest is now the station of 8.11, the goal of 8.13, and his own abode. na nivartante (न निवर्तन्ते) is the same claim as punarjanma na vidyate (पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते) in 8.16, said from the far side. 8.22 will say the person this abode belongs to, and the devotion that reaches him.
Split: 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
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| अव्यक्तः | avyaktaḥ | nominative | unmanifest. The higher one of 8.20. |
| अक्षरः | akṣaraḥ | nominative | imperishable. Masculine here, agreeing with the being. |
| इति | iti | indeclinable | thus, "as." |
| उक्तः | uktaḥ | nominative, past participle | called, said. From vac (वच्). |
| तम् | tam | accusative | that. |
| आहुः | āhuḥ | perfect, 3rd plural | they say, they call. |
| परमाम् | paramām | accusative feminine | supreme. |
| गतिम् | gatim | accusative | goal. |
| यम् | yam | accusative | which. |
| प्राप्य | prāpya | gerund of pra-āp (प्र-आप्) | having reached. |
| न | na | indeclinable | not. |
| निवर्तन्ते | nivartante | present, 3rd plural, middle | they return. ni (नि) + vṛt (वृत्). |
| तत् | tat | nominative neuter | that. |
| धाम | dhāma | nominative of dhāman (धामन्) | abode, domain. |
| परमम् | paramam | nominative neuter | supreme. Agrees with dhāma (धाम). |
| मम | mama | genitive | my, of me. |
The phrases
avyaktaḥ akṣaraḥ iti uktaḥ (अव्यक्तः अक्षरः इति उक्तः) is what it is called. Called the unmanifest, the imperishable. iti (इति) marks those two nominatives as the name. uktaḥ (उक्तः) agrees with the being.
तम् आहुः परमां गतिम् tam āhuḥ paramāṃ gatim is what they call it. That, they say, is the supreme goal. The accusative tam (तम्) is the thing called. paramām gatim (परमाम् गतिम्) is the name in the accusative, object of āhuḥ (आहुः) along with tam (तम्).
yaṃ prāpya na nivartante (यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते) is the test of this goal against 8.16. Having reached it, they do not return. The worlds were punarāvartinaḥ (पुनरावर्तिनः). This place fails that description. tat dhāma paramam mama (तत् धाम परमम् मम) closes it. That supreme abode is mine.
Sanskrit in this line
तत् + धाम tat + dhāma is recited taddhāma (तद्धाम). t (त्) before dh (ध्) becomes d (द्), and the dh (ध्) is written as the second half of the cluster द्ध ddh. Do not read taddhāma (तद्धाम) as a new noun. It is tat (तत्) plus dhāma (धाम).
इति + उक्तः iti + uktaḥ is ity uktaḥ (इत्युक्तः). इ + उ i + u becomes yu (यु). Then उक्तः + तम् uktaḥ + tam is uktas tam (उक्तस्तम्), visarga before t (त्) becoming s (स्).
Say it back
What they call it, that people do not return, and whose abode it is. If mama (मम) drops out, the abode has become a place with no one whose place it is.