Bhagavad Gita 9.21 meaningThe open secret
In simple wordsSo simple a child gets it
“…but when their good luck runs out, they come back.”
What it means
— but once their good merit is used up, they return to this world. Chasing pleasures through ritual, they come and go.”
The original Sanskrit
ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्गलोकं विशालं क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति । एवं त्रयीधर्ममनुप्रपन्ना गतागतं कामकामा लभन्ते ॥
te taṃ bhuktvā svargalokaṃ viśālaṃ kṣīṇe puṇye martyalokaṃ viśanti evaṃ trayīdharmamanuprapannā gatāgataṃ kāmakāmā labhante
Translations
Literal translation
After having enjoyed that vast heavenly world, they enter into the human world on the exhaustion of their merit. Thus, those who follow the rites and duties prescribed in the three Vedas, and are desirous of pleasures, attain the state of going and returning.
Swami Gambhirananda
हिंदी अनुवाद
वे उस विशाल स्वर्गलोक को भोगकर, पुण्यक्षीण होने पर, मृत्युलोक को प्राप्त होते हैं। इस प्रकार तीनों वेदों में कहे गये कर्म के शरण हुए और भोगों की कामना वाले पुरुष आवागमन (गतागत) को प्राप्त होते हैं।
Swami Tejomayananda
Go deeper
Commentaries
How great teachers across 1,200 years have explained this verse.
Loading commentaries…
Keep reading · 9.22“But for those who think of me alone and love me always, I bring what they lack and protect what they have.”