Chapter 6, Verse 41
प्राप्य पुण्यकृतां लोकानुषित्वा शाश्वतीः समाः | शुचीनां श्रीमतां गेहे योगभ्रष्टोऽभिजायते ||६-४१||
prāpya puṇyakṛtāṃ lokānuṣitvā śāśvatīḥ samāḥ . śucīnāṃ śrīmatāṃ gehe yogabhraṣṭo.abhijāyate ||6-41||
Meaning
6.41 Having attained to the worlds of the righteous and having dwelt there for everlasting years, he who fell from Yoga is rorn in a house of the pure and wealthy.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna now explains in concrete detail what actually happens to the yoga-bhrashta — the one who fell from yoga before completing the path. Far from being annihilated, he first attains the punya-krit lokas, the radiant worlds earned by the righteous, and dwells there for vast stretches of time, enjoying the fruits of the good he has already done.
Then, when that sojourn ends, he is reborn — but in remarkably favorable circumstances: in the home of the shuchi and shrimat, the pure and the prosperous. The seeker's spiritual labor has purchased not only heavenly reward but a fresh birth into conditions ideally suited for resuming the journey. Krishna's vision of the cosmos is utterly just and merciful: no sincere effort is lost, and the path simply continues across lifetimes. The fall is not a final defeat but a pause, after which the soul is given every advantage to take up the climb again from a higher rung.
💡 Key Takeaway
Spiritual effort is never lost — even an unfinished path leads to a fortunate rebirth to continue the journey.
Related Verses
अर्जुन उवाच | अयतिः श्रद्धयोपेतो योगाच्चलितमानसः | अप्राप्य योगसंसिद्धिं कां गतिं कृष्ण गच्छति ||६-३७||
arjuna uvāca . ayatiḥ śraddhayopeto yogāccalitamānasaḥ . aprāpya yogasaṃsiddhiṃ kāṃ gatiṃ kṛṣṇa gacchati ||6-37||
6.37 Arjuna said He who is unable to control himself though he has the faith, and whose mind wanders away from Yoga, what end does he, having failed to attain perfection in Yoga, mee,t O Krishna?
श्रीभगवानुवाच | पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते | न हि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद् दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति ||६-४०||
śrībhagavānuvāca . pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśastasya vidyate . na hi kalyāṇakṛtkaścid durgatiṃ tāta gacchati ||6-40||
6.40 The Blessed Lord said O Arjuna, neither in this world, nor in the next world is there destruction for him; none, verily, who does good, O My son, ever comes to grief.
अथवा योगिनामेव कुले भवति धीमताम् | एतद्धि दुर्लभतरं लोके जन्म यदीदृशम् ||६-४२||
athavā yogināmeva kule bhavati dhīmatām . etaddhi durlabhataraṃ loke janma yadīdṛśam ||6-42||
6.42 Or he is born in a family of even the wise Yogis; verily a birth like this is very difficult to obtain in this world.