Bhagavad Gita 8.16: meaning and translation
Chapter 8: Akshara Brahma Yoga. Krishna says
All the worlds, up to the world of Brahmā (the creator), are places from which beings return to birth, Krishna says.
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Bhagavad Gita 8.16
आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन ।मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ॥
Abrahmabhuvanallokah punaravartinorjunaMamupetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate
ābrahmabhuvanāllokāḥ punarāvartino’rjuna |māmupetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate ||
Our explanation All the worlds, up to the world of Brahmā (the creator), are places from which beings return to birth, Krishna says. But one who reaches him is not born again.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि ब्रह्मा (सृष्टिकर्ता) के लोक तक सभी लोक ऐसे हैं जहाँ से प्राणी फिर जन्म लेने लौटते हैं। पर जो उन्हें प्राप्त होता है, उसका पुनर्जन्म नहीं होता।
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- आब्रह्मभुवनात् ābrahmabhuvanāt · up to the world of Brahmā (compound, ablative singular) Dictionary: 4. ā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 126, col. 1 “up to, to, as far as”; brahma-bhuvana, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 739, col. 2 “Brahmā's world”
- लोकाः lokāḥ · worlds (nominative plural) Dictionary: loka, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 906, col. 1 “the wide space or world”
- पुनरावर्तिनः punarāvartinaḥ · returning again (compound, nominative plural) Dictionary: punar-āvartin, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 633, col. 3 “returning (to mundane existence)”
- अर्जुन arjuna · O Arjuna (vocative singular) Dictionary: arjuna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 90, col. 1
- 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.)”
- उपेत्य upetya · having come to (absolutive ('having done')) Dictionary: 1. upe, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 215, col. 2 “to come near to, reach, obtain”
- तु tu · but (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. tu, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 449, col. 3 “but; and; or”
- कौन्तेय kaunteya · O son of Kunti (Arjuna) (vocative singular) Dictionary: kaunteya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 316, col. 2 “metron. fr. Kuntī”
- पुनर्जन्म punarjanma · birth again (compound, nominative singular) Dictionary: punar-janman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 633, col. 3 “re-birth, metempsychosis”
- न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “not, no, nor, neither”
- विद्यते vidyate · there is (passive, present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 3. vid, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 965, col. 1 “to be found, exist, be”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 79.
All worlds, O Arguna! up to the world of Brahman, are (destined) to return1. But, O son of Kuntî! after attaining to me, there is no birth again.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - They are only temporary, not the everlasting seats of the soul. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 79.
All worlds, O Arguna! up to the world of Brahman, are (destined) to return1. But, O son of Kuntî! after attaining to me, there is no birth again.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - They are only temporary, not the everlasting seats of the soul. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 84.
The worlds, beginning with the world of Brahmâ, return again, O Arjuna; he who cometh unto Me, O Kaunteya, verily he knoweth birth no more.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 167.
All the worlds, O Arjuna, including the realm of Brahmà, are subject to return, but after attaining Me, O son of Kunti, there is no re-birth.
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 8.16.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 84. Bhagavad Gita 8.16.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 167. Bhagavad Gita 8.16.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 8.16: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 27, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/8/16/
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Bhagavad Gita 8.16
आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन ।
मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ॥
“All worlds, O Arguna! up to the world of Brahman, are (destined) to return. But, O son of Kuntî! after attaining to me, there is no birth again.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 79, public domain)
“The worlds, beginning with the world of Brahmâ, return again, O Arjuna; he who cometh unto Me, O Kaunteya, verily he knoweth birth no more.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 84, public domain)
“All the worlds, O Arjuna, including the realm of Brahmà, are subject to return, but after attaining Me, O son of Kunti, there is no re-birth.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 167, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/8/16/ 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 8.16?
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.