सिद्धिं प्राप्तो यथा ब्रह्म तथाप्नोति निबोध मे । समासेनैव कौन्तेय निष्ठा ज्ञानस्य या परा ॥
siddhiṃ prāpto yathā brahma tathāpnoti nibodha me | samāsenaiva kaunteya niṣṭhā jñānasya yā parā ||
Learn briefly from Me how one who has attained siddhi attains Brahman — the supreme culmination of knowledge.
Word by word (3)
- siddhiṃ prāpto yathā brahma tathāpnoti nibodha me
- — having attained (prāptaḥ = obtained, arrived at) perfection (siddhim), how (yathā = in what way/as) one attains/reaches (āpnoti = obtains) Brahman (brahma), that (tathā = in that way) learn (nibodha = understand/know well, from ni + budh = thoroughly-know) from Me (me)
- samāsenaiva kaunteya niṣṭhā jñānasya yā parā
- — briefly (samāsena = in summary, briefly), only (eva), O Kaunteya (son of Kuntī), the highest (parā = highest/supreme) niṣṭhā (culmination/establishment/absorption) of jñāna (knowledge) which (yā) — this verse is the announcement of V51-V55's brahma-bhūta path
- niṣṭhā jñānasya parā
- — the supreme niṣṭhā of jñāna; niṣṭhā = the final establishment/culmination; where knowledge rests/abides in its highest form; jñāna's parā niṣṭhā = brahma-prāpti (attainment of Brahman); V50 announces what V51-55 will detail: the qualities that characterize the person moving from siddhi to brahma-prāpti
Learn from Me briefly, O son of Kuntī, how one having attained perfection attains Brahman — that supreme culmination of knowledge.
A modern analogy
V50 is a pivot/announcement verse — like V29 (announcing buddhi+dhṛti analysis) and V36 (announcing three-fold happiness). Here Krishna announces: having described naiṣkarmya-siddhi (V49), I will now briefly describe how the one who attains that siddhi moves to brahma-prāpti (attaining Brahman — the supreme culmination of all knowledge). V51-55 will give the brahma-bhūta qualities.
V50 is the transition from the svadharma section (V41-49) to the brahma-bhūta section (V50-55). The teaching arc of V41-50: V41-44 (four-fold svadharma) → V45 (saṃsiddhi through svadharma) → V46 (svakarmaṇā worship = mechanism) → V47-48 (svadharma over para-dharma; persist despite faults) → V49 (inner naiṣkarmya through sannyāsa) → V50 (transition: from siddhi to brahma-prāpti). V50 bridges the practical teaching (svadharma → siddhi) with the ultimate teaching (siddhi → brahma-prāpti → bhakti → mat-prasāda → mokṣa).
Niṣṭhā jñānasya parā (supreme culmination of jñāna) as the description of brahma-prāpti is philosophically significant. In the Gita's teaching, the entire arc of jñāna culminates not in intellectual comprehension but in brahma-prāpti (becoming brahma-bhūta — Ch.18 V53-54). Jñāna's 'highest resting place' (parā niṣṭhā) is not a position of intellectual mastery but a state of being: brahma-bhūta (established in Brahman), which then leads to the highest bhakti (V54), which then reveals the true nature of the Divine (V55).
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
How he who has attained perfection reaches Brahman, that in brief do thou learn from Me, O son of Kunti — that supreme consummation of knowledge. [1]
Learn from Me in brief, O son of Kunti, how reaching such perfection, he attains to Brahman, that supreme consummation of knowledge. [4]
MISSING from index. [9]
Learn from me, only in brief, O son of Kunti, how one, having obtained this kind of perfection, attains to Brahma which is the supreme end of knowledge. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
By bhakti one truly knows what and who I am; then knowing Me truly, one enters into Me immediately.
Endued with pure buddhi, regulating self with dhṛti, renouncing sense-objects, setting aside rāga-dveṣa —
Abandon all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone — I will liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.
Those whose sin has ended — virtuous in deed, freed from dvandva-delusion — worship Me with firm resolve.
Some say all karma is faulty and should be abandoned; others say yajña-dāna-tapas must not be abandoned.
Even yajña-dāna-tapas must be performed having abandoned attachment and fruits — my settled, highest opinion.