न तद् भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः । यद् गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद् धाम परमं मम ॥
na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ | yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṃ mama ||
No sun, moon, or fire illumines My supreme abode — going there, none returns. This is the Self-luminous Para-Brahman.
Word by word (3)
- na tad bhāsayate sūryaḥ na śaśāṅkaḥ na pāvakaḥ
- — that (abode — tat padam from V4/V5) is not illumined (na bhāsayate) by the sun (sūrya), nor the moon (śaśāṅka), nor fire (pāvaka) — all external light-sources fail
- yad gatvā na nivartante
- — going to which (yad gatvā) they do not return again (na nivartante) — the signature of mokṣa, echoing V4's na nivartanti bhūyaḥ
- tad dhāma paramaṃ mama
- — that is My supreme dhāman (abode/radiance); mama = of Me, Krishna/Paramātmā — the ultimate destination declared in first person
Neither the sun, nor the moon, nor fire illumines that place. Going there, none return. That is My supreme abode.
A modern analogy
We light a candle to see in the dark. But the sun doesn't need a candle — it is the source of all candle-fire. And Brahman doesn't even need the sun — it is the source of the sun's ability to shine. The supreme abode is Self-luminous: not lit from outside, because it IS the source of all light.
V6 is the culmination of the aśvattha-tree section: after the tree is cut (V3), the seeker finds the ādya puruṣa (V4), reaches the goal with the right qualities (V5), and NOW that goal is described directly. The parallel with Kaṭha Upaniṣad 5.15 / Muṇḍaka 2.2.10 / Śvetāśvatara 6.14 ('na tatra sūryo bhāti...') makes this one of the great Self-luminosity declarations in Vedānta.
For Advaita, this verse establishes that Brahman is svayam-jyoti (self-luminous) — light is its nature, not an attribute. The negation structure (not sun, not moon, not fire) is the apophatic theology of Vedānta: the Absolute is known by negating all finite illuminators. Śaṅkara calls this the turīya state where even awareness of awareness dissolves into pure cit. The 'mama' makes this bhakti-inclusive: the same Self-luminous Brahman is Krishna's own form.
Advaita lens
This is svayam-jyotiḥ Brahman — self-luminous Pure Consciousness that is the substrate of all perception. The sun illumines objects; but who illumines the sun? The eye illumines the sun-image in consciousness; but who illumines the eye? The chain terminates in the Witness, cit-śakti — which is 'dhāma paramaṃ mama.' Śaṅkara: 'tat me paramam dhāma' = the very nature of the pure Self.
Bhakti lens
Krishna reveals His home — paramaṃ mama — as beyond all cosmic luminaries. The Vaikuṇṭha of Viṣṇu-theology is precisely this self-luminous abode where devotees attain sāyujya or sālokya. The bhakta doesn't need to understand the metaphysics of Self-luminosity — they trust: 'this is Krishna's abode, and He invites me there.' prapadye (V4) reaches here.
Karma-Yoga lens
For the karma-yogin, V6 describes the state AFTER the ego-fire of action is fully consumed. The one who offered all actions as yajña, who relinquished kartṛtva (doership) completely — the residual 'I' that was the instrument of action dissolves into this Self-luminous ground. No more 'I did' — only this light, which was always there.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
That the sun illumines not, nor the moon, nor fire; That is My Supreme Abode, to which having gone none return. [1]
That the sun illumines not, nor the moon, nor fire; that is My Supreme Abode, going whither they return not. [4]
The sun does not light it, nor the moon, nor fire. That is my highest abode, going to which none returns. [9]
The sun lights not that seat, nor the moon, nor fire. That is My highest abode, going to which none returns. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The all-pervading Lord takes neither sin nor merit from anyone — ignorance veils knowledge and deludes all beings.
Krishna's first words to Arjuna are a challenge: 'From where has this come over you?'
A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield — and the Gita begins.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
That which pervades everything cannot be destroyed — nothing and no one has the power to end it.
The soul does not slay, and cannot be slain — both the slayer and the slain have mistaken the soul for the body.