न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः ।यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥
na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ |yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṃ mama ||
- न · na
- not
- तत् · tat
- that
- भासयते · bhāsayate
- illumines
- सूर्यः · sūryaḥ
- the sun
- शशाङ्कः · śaśāṅkaḥ
- the moon
- पावकः · pāvakaḥ
- fire
- यत् · yat
- which
- गत्वा · gatvā
- having reached
- न निवर्तन्ते · na nivartante
- they do not return
- तत् · tat
- that
- धाम · dhāma
- abode
- परमम् · paramam
- supreme
- मम · mama
- my
“Sun does not illumine it, nor moon, nor fire — reaching that, none return. That is my supreme abode.”
— Original plain-language translation
IN SHORT There is a bright home beyond sorrow where no one must return grieving.
The goal needs no borrowed light because it is light itself — self-luminous consciousness. This verse is among the most quoted in the Gita, echoed in the Upanishads. After the hard work of felling the tree, the destination is described as sheer radiance. It is like reaching a hill station sunrise that needs no streetlight because the sky itself is glowing.
— Reader's notes (original)