Bhagavad Gita 8.13: meaning and translation
Chapter 8: Akshara Brahma Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna completes the sentence.
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Bhagavad Gita 8.13
ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् ।यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम् ॥
Omityekaksharam brahma vyaharanmamanusmaranYah prayati tyajandeham sa yati paramam gatim
omityekākṣaraṃ brahma vyāharanmāmanusmaran |yaḥ prayāti tyajandehaṃ sa yāti paramāṃ gatim ||
Our explanation Krishna completes the sentence. Whoever departs in this way, leaving the body while uttering Om, the one-syllable Brahman, and remembering him, reaches the highest goal, he says.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण वाक्य पूरा करते हैं। वे कहते हैं कि एक अक्षर वाले ब्रह्म ॐ का उच्चारण करते हुए और उनका स्मरण करते हुए जो इस तरह शरीर छोड़कर जाता है, वह परम गति को प्राप्त होता है।
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- ओम् om · Om (indeclinable) Dictionary: om, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 235, col. 3 “a word of solemn affirmation and respectful assent”
- इति iti · thus (marks the word) (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. iti, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 165, col. 1 “in this manner, thus”
- एकाक्षरम् ekākṣaram · the one syllable (compound, accusative singular) Dictionary: ekākṣara, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 229, col. 3 “a single syllable”
- ब्रह्म brahma · Brahman (accusative singular) Dictionary: brahman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 738, col. 1 “one self-existent impersonal Spirit, the one universal Soul”
- व्याहरन् vyāharan · uttering (present participle, nominative singular) Dictionary: vy-ā-hṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1039, col. 3 “to utter or pronounce a sound, speak, say to”
- माम् mām · "me" (Krishna) (pronoun, accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. mad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 777, col. 2 “base of the first pers. pron. in the sg. number (esp. in comp.)”
- अनुस्मरन् anusmaran · remembering (present participle, nominative singular) Dictionary: anu-smṛ, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 41, col. 2 “to remember, recollect”
- यः yaḥ · who (relative pronoun, nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
- प्रयाति prayāti · departs (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: pra-yā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 688, col. 1 “to go forth, set out, progress”
- त्यजन् tyajan · leaving (present participle, nominative singular) Dictionary: 1. tyaj, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 456, col. 3 “to leave, abandon, quit”
- देहम् deham · the body (accusative singular) Dictionary: deha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 496, col. 3 “the body”
- सः saḥ · he (pronoun, nominative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
- याति yāti · goes to, reaches (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: yā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 849, col. 1 “to go, proceed, move, walk, set out”
- परमाम् paramām · highest (accusative singular (feminine)) Dictionary: parama, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 588, col. 1 “chief, highest, primary, most prominent or conspicuous”
- गतिम् gatim · goal (accusative singular (feminine)) Dictionary: gati, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 347, col. 3 “going, moving, gait, deportment, motion in general”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain.
Telang translates verses 12–13 as one sentence; see 8.12. Read it at 8.12
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain.
Telang translates verses 12–13 as one sentence; see 8.12. Read it at 8.12
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 83.
"Om!" the one indestructible Brahman, reciting, exclusively remembering Me; he who thus goeth forth, abandoning the body, he goeth on the highest Path.
This sentence begins in 8.12.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain.
Swarupananda renders verses 12–13 together; see 8.12. Read it at 8.12
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 79. Bhagavad Gita 8.12–13.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 83. Bhagavad Gita 8.13.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 165. Bhagavad Gita 8.12–13.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 8.13: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 27, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/8/13/
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Bhagavad Gita 8.13
ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् ।
यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम् ॥
“"Om!" the one indestructible Brahman, reciting, exclusively remembering Me; he who thus goeth forth, abandoning the body, he goeth on the highest Path.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 83, public domain)
This sentence begins in 8.12.
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/8/13/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 8.13?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 8 (Akshara Brahma Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 27, 2026.