Bhagavad-gītā 8.5
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम्। यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः।।8.5।।
anta-kāle cha mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ yāti nāstyatra sanśhayaḥ
And he, who at the time of death, meditating on Me alone, goes forth, leaving the body, attains My Being: there is no doubt about this.
English rendering by Swami Swarupananda. Public domain first edition, 1909.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| anta-kāle | at the time of death |
| cha | and |
| mām | me |
| eva | alone |
| smaran | remembering |
| muktvā | relinquish |
| kalevaram | the body |
| yaḥ | who |
| prayāti | goes |
| saḥ | he |
| mat-bhāvam | Godlike nature |
| yāti | achieves |
| na | no |
| asti | there is |
| atra | here |
| sanśhayaḥ | doubt |
Read the Sanskrit as a connected thought built from anta-kāle (at the time of death), prayāti (goes), and sanśhayaḥ (doubt). Ask what changes between the first and last term, and how that movement contributes to remembrance that shapes one's destination. State the connection in your own words, then check it against Bhagavad-gita 8.5.
Original school explanation. Written independently from the Sanskrit word map. It is not a quotation, translation, or summary of a named modern commentary. Chapter lens: Track Arjuna’s questions and Kṛṣṇa’s answers about Brahman, action, remembrance, destination and cosmic time.
Five careful reading routes
The cards below are reading references, not claims about what an acharya says in this verse. Modern wording stays inside authorized editions. Classical commentary will appear only after an independent translation has passed scholarly and rights review.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
And he, who at the time of death, meditating on Me alone, goes forth, leaving the body, attains My Being
- 2
there is no doubt about this
- 3
anta-kāle: at the time of death
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A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As It IsFor Bhagavad-gita 8.5, consult the authorized BBT edition. No purport, translation, or author-attributed summary is reproduced here.
Find the authorized editionBhaktivinoda Thakura
Rasika-ranjanaA verified independent rendering for Bhagavad-gita 8.5 has not yet passed scholarly and rights review. Modern translations are not copied here.
Independent rendering pending reviewBaladeva Vidyabhushana
Gita-bhushana-bhashyaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 8.5 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewVishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
Sarartha-varshini-tikaThe original work is classical. A newly commissioned or independently prepared translation for Bhagavad-gita 8.5 must be verified before publication.
Independent translation pending reviewOther Gaudiya acharyas
Authorized Gaudiya editionsFor Bhagavad-gita 8.5, later teachers remain a further-reading route. Their wording and distinctive teaching structures require permission or a separate rights review.
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