ततः पदं तत् परिमार्गितव्यं यस्मिन् गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः । तम् एव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी ॥
tataḥ padaṃ tat parimārgitavyaṃ yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ | tam eva cādyaṃ puruṣaṃ prapadye yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī ||
After cutting the tree, seek the no-return abode — taking refuge in the Primordial Puruṣa, source of all.
Word by word (3)
- tataḥ padaṃ tat parimārgitavyam
- — then (tataḥ — after cutting the tree) that goal/abode (tat padam) must be sought out (parimārgitavyam — to be searched for earnestly)
- yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ
- — going to which (yasmin gatāḥ), one does not return again (na nivartanti bhūyaḥ) — the unreturn-state of liberation from rebirth
- tam eva cādyaṃ puruṣaṃ prapadye yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī
- — I take refuge (prapadye) in that very primal (ādya) Puruṣa from whom the ancient activity/manifestation (purāṇī pravṛttiḥ) has streamed forth (prasṛtā)
Then one should seek that supreme goal, going to which none ever returns again: 'I take refuge in that Primeval Purusha from whom the ancient stream of existence has flowed forth.'
A modern analogy
Once you wake from a dream, you don't go back to searching for the dream's edge — you seek the waking state instead. And you find it not by analysis but by recognizing the one who was always already awake: the Primordial Puruṣa, the eternal ground from whom the dream arose.
V4 is the practice-verse: after the diagnosis (V1-2: the tree's nature) and the prescription (V3: cut it with asaṅga), now comes the direction: seek 'tat padam' — the goal. And the method is bhakti: prapadye (taking refuge), the first-person vow. This is remarkable in a jñāna-heavy chapter — the ultimate means is surrender to the ādya puruṣa. The formula 'na nivartanti' unifies all the liberation-promises of the Gita.
The phrase 'yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī' is theologically profound — the world's entire ancient stream of activity flows FROM this Puruṣa. This is not creation ex nihilo but emanation from the ādya ground. For Advaita, this Puruṣa is Brahman/Nirguṇa; for Viśiṣṭādvaita, it is Paramātmā as the ground of Viśiṣṭa-Brahman. Either way, prapadye (surrender/refuge) is the relational posture toward the ultimate.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Then That Goal should be sought for, whither having gone none return again. I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha whence streamed forth the Ancient Activity. [1]
Then that Goal should be sought for whither having gone none returns: 'I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha from Whom hath streamed forth the ancient Activity.' [4]
Then should one seek for that seat from which those that go there never return, thinking that one rests on that same primal being from whom the ancient course (of worldly life) emanated. [9]
Then should one seek for that place repairing whither one goes not again (thinking) 'I will seek the protection of that Primeval Sire from whom the ancient course of (worldly) life has flowed.' [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
With mind attached, practising yoga, taking refuge in Me — hear how you shall know Me fully, without doubt.
The fruit of those of little understanding is finite — god-worshippers go to the gods; My devotees come to Me.
Do My work, hold Me supreme, be My devotee, attachment-free, without enmity toward all — such a one comes to Me!
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Taking refuge in Me for liberation from old age and death — they know Brahman, Adhyātma, and all of Karma.
Brahman-become, serene, neither grieving nor desiring, equal to all beings — he attains supreme bhakti to Me.