श्रीमद् भगवद्गीता

मूल श्लोकः

अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम्।

यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम।।8.21।।

 

Sanskrit Commentary By Sri Ramanuja

।।8.21।।सः अव्यक्तः अक्षर इति उक्तःये त्वक्षरमनिर्देश्यमव्यक्तं पर्युपासते। (गीता 12।3)कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते।। (गीता 15।16) इत्यादिषु तं वेदविदः परमां गतिम् आहुः अयम् एवयः प्रयाति त्यजन् देहं स याति परमां गतिम्।। इत्यत्र परमगतिशब्दनिर्दिष्टः अक्षरः प्रकृतिसंसर्गवियुक्तस्वरूपेण अवस्थित आत्मा इत्यर्थः।यम् एवंभूतं स्वरूपेणावस्थितम् प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद् मम परमं धाम परमं नियमनस्थानम्। अचेतनप्रकृतिः एकं नियमनस्थानम् तत्संसृष्टरूपा जीवप्रकृतिः द्वितीयं नियमनस्थानम् अचित्संसर्गवियुक्तं स्वरूपेणावस्थितं मुक्तस्वरूपं परमं नियमनस्थानम् इत्यर्थः। तत् च अपुनरावृत्तिरूपम्।अथवा प्रकाशवाची धामशब्दः प्रकाशः च इह ज्ञानम् अभिप्रेतं प्रकृतिसंसृष्टात् परिच्छिन्नज्ञानरूपाद् आत्मनः अपरिच्छिन्नज्ञानरूपतया मुक्तस्वरूपं परं धाम।ज्ञानिनः प्राप्यं तु तस्माद् अत्यन्तविभक्तम् इत्याह --

English Translation of Ramanuja's Sanskrit Commentary By Swami Adidevananda

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: