न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः | यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ||१५-६||
na tadbhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ .
yadgatvā na nivartante taddhāma paramaṃ mama ||15-6||
Neither doth the sun illumine there nor the moon, nor the fire; having gone thither they return not; that is My supreme abode.
In simple words
Krishna describes his supreme dwelling: "Neither the sun shines there, nor the moon, nor fire. Those who reach that place never come back. That is My highest home."
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
Swami Sivananda
15.6 न not? तत् that? भासयते illumines? सूर्यः the sun? न not? शशाङ्कः the moon? न not? पावकः fire? यत् to which? गत्वा having gone? न not? निवर्तन्ते (they) return? तत् that? धाम Abode? परमम् Supreme? मम My.Commentary That supreme abode is selfillumined for Brahman is selfluminous. It existed before the sun? the moon and the fire came into existence during creation. It remains even after they dissolve into the Unmanifested during the dissolution of the world.This verse is taken from the Kathopanishad The sun does not shine there? nor do the moon and the stars? nor does this lightning shine and much less this fire. When It shines? everything shines after It? by Its light? all these shine (Chap.II?5.15). The same idea occurs in the Svetasvatara Upanishad (6.14) and the Mundaka Upanishad (II.2.10). The sun? the moon? etc.? derive their light from Para Brahman. Nothing else is needed for illuminating the Supreme Being because It is selfluminous.Dhama paramam Supreme abode or superexcellent seat or Para Brahman.Though the sun is endowed with the power of illumining all? it cannot illumine the Supreme Being.यत् धाम वैष्णवं पदं गत्वा प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते यत् च सूर्यादिभिः न भासयते तत् धाम पदं परमं मम विष्णोः।That abode? to which having gone? none returns? and which the sun? moon? stars? lightning and fire do not illumine? is the highest abode of Vishnu.(Cf.VIII.21)
Swami Chinmayananda
This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.
# BG 15.6 — Translation of Commentary
The goal of spiritual life is non-return to the world of becoming. This principle has been emphasized with particular force in the preceding verses and is being reiterated here. In all the scriptures of dharma, repetition is employed to stress a particular doctrine. Certainly, this method is not used everywhere. Propositions that fall within the scope of logic can be proven through logic alone. But the realm of atman-knowledge transcends the senses, and therefore initially only the acharya can enter there—not the students. Thus, the sole means of inspiring faith in the students regarding the experience of the infinite, unknowable Self is repetition, which the rishis employed in their teachings. Throughout the Gita, this glorious state of completeness is indicated as the supreme destination of seekers. Although this state lies beyond mind and speech, a fitting attempt has been made here to point toward it.
The sun, moon, and fire cannot illuminate it. Here are mentioned those sources of light by which our eyes perceive visible objects. To see an object means to know it, and for the eyes to perceive an object, that object must be before the eyes and must be illuminated. Only through light can the eyes perceive form and color. Similarly, through the other senses we know sound, touch, taste, and smell; and through mind and intellect we successively know feelings and thoughts. The light by which we become aware and conscious of all these is the light of consciousness itself.
This light of consciousness cannot be illuminated by the sources of light in the material world—the sun, moon, and fire. In truth, all these sources of light are objects of perception for consciousness. It is the law that the perceived cannot illuminate the perceiver, and never and nowhere can the perceiver and the perceived be one. The consciousness by which we know the experiences of pleasure and pain in our lives is the eternal atman itself, and the Lord calls this His supreme abode. This is the supreme goal of life.
That is My supreme abode—here the word "abode" refers to the very nature of the Self, not to any particular place. The seeker endowed with the qualities described in the previous verse, through the practice of meditation and transcending the distractions of mind and intellect, can reach the abode of the Supreme Self, establish the time of direct realization of Truth, and meet the infinite Brahman.
We are all utilitarian by nature. Therefore, we wish to know first: Is the experience of Truth worthy of such great effort? After attaining it, is there no fear or possibility of returning again to this world of suffering? This fear is baseless. Lord Sri Krishna gives us assurance for the third time: My supreme abode is that from which, having reached it, the seeker does not return.
It is a well-known fact that once a person has attained mastery in a particular branch of knowledge, it becomes nearly impossible for that expert to make errors in that knowledge. For a great musician to deliberately make mistakes in raga and tala is as difficult as for a newly trained singer to sing off-key. A scholar of language cannot make grammatical errors in speech. If even in the realm of imperfect worldly knowledge, a cultured, educated, and accomplished person never descends to the level of an uncultured and uneducated person, how infinitely impossible would it be for a person of perfect knowledge to return to the delusions born of ignorance! This is an extremely rare verse in the world's spiritual literature, in which the unconditioned, pure Supreme Self is indicated with such clarity and simplicity of style.
In Hindu dharma, the principle of rebirth is established. According to this principle, after the soul abandons one body, it takes on a new body according to its karma. These bodies may be those of deities, humans, animals, and so forth. This means that upon abandoning one body, the soul does not attain liberation but again enters the world. Yet in this verse it is said: That abode from which, having reached it, the soul does not return—that is My supreme abode. Thus, there appears to be a contradiction between these two principles.
To resolve this contradiction, Lord Sri Krishna sheds light on the nature of the soul in the verses that follow.