Akshara Brahma Yoga · Verse 20

Bhagavad Gita 8.20

What is deepest in reality cannot be destroyed by any ending.

Wisdom translation, edited by Ankur Shukla. Commentary AI-drafted, human-reviewed. Reviewed June 2026. Methodology →

परस्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्योऽव्यक्तोऽव्यक्तात्सनातनः ।
यः स सर्वेषु भूतेषु नश्यत्सु न विनश्यति ॥
Hindi · हिन्दी
परन्तु उस अव्यक्त ब्रह्माजीके सूक्ष्मशरीर से अन्य अनादि सर्वश्रेष्ठ भावरूप जो अव्यक्त है, उसका सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंके नष्ट होनेपर भी नाश नहीं होता ॥
English
Beyond that unmanifest is another, eternal unmanifest. Even when all beings perish, it does not perish.

What this verse means

There is something beyond the visible world that is eternal and cannot be destroyed, even when all living things disappear.

Context & commentary

On Kurukshetra, with Arjuna shaken and the armies waiting, Krishna keeps tracing reality beyond birth and death. After describing how beings arise and dissolve, he points to what remains when every form vanishes: the eternal unmanifest.

Why this verse still matters

You watch a relationship, a career, or a plan fall apart and feel the floor disappear. This verse says the deepest ground of reality is still there, untouched by the collapse.

The takeaway

The deepest reality is not vulnerable to collapse, so loss does not have the final word.

Word-by-word translation

परस्तस्मात् (beyond that) / तु (but) / भावः (state/being) / अन्यः (another) / अव्यक्तः (unmanifest) / अव्यक्तात् (than the unmanifest) / सनातनः (eternal) / यः (which) / सः (that) / सर्वेषु (in all) / भूतेषु (beings) / नश्यत्सु (when perishing) / न (not) / विनश्यति (perishes)

Explore related themes: akshara (12 verses), avyakta (10 verses)

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