टीका

Commentary

This verse completes the instruction begun in the previous one. After cutting the banyan tree of material bondage with the weapon of detachment, what should one do? Krishna says: seek that abode (padam) from which one never returns to this material world.

The word parimargitavyam means “must be searched out” — it implies active seeking, not passive waiting. Spiritual liberation is not something that happens to a person by accident. It requires deliberate pursuit, earnest inquiry, and wholehearted surrender.

Krishna then reveals to whom one must surrender: tam eva chaadyam purusham prapadye — to that original Supreme Person. He is the source (yatah pravrittih prasritaa) from whom this entire ancient creation has flowed. Krishna is not describing an abstract philosophical concept but a personal relationship with the Divine. The word prapadye — I surrender — is intensely personal.

The beauty of this verse is that it combines the impersonal and the personal. First, one cuts through illusion with the analytical knowledge of detachment. Then, having freed oneself from the entanglement, one does not simply dissolve into nothingness — one returns home, to the original Person, the eternal source. This is the Gita’s consistent teaching: jnana (knowledge) leads to bhakti (devotion), and bhakti is the final destination.

Krishna is that original source, and to surrender to Him through hearing, chanting, and devotional service is the means of reaching that abode from which there is no return.