Chapter 8, Verse 10
प्रयाणकाले मनसाऽचलेन भक्त्या युक्तो योगबलेन चैव | भ्रुवोर्मध्ये प्राणमावेश्य सम्यक् स तं परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम् ||८-१०||
prayāṇakāle manasā.acalena bhaktyā yukto yogabalena caiva . bhruvormadhye prāṇamāveśya samyak sa taṃ paraṃ puruṣamupaiti divyam ||8-10||
Meaning
8.10 At the time of death, with unshaken mind, endowed with devotio, by the power of Yoga, fixing the whole life-breath in the middle of the two eyrows, he reaches that resplendent Supreme Person.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna describes the inner mastery of the accomplished yogi at the moment of departure. With an unshaken mind (manasa achalena), filled with devotion (bhaktya yukto), and strengthened by the power of yoga, such a one gathers the life-breath and fixes it at the point between the eyebrows. So composed, he reaches the resplendent Supreme Person.
What shines through this technical description is the union of two forces: devotion and discipline. Bhakti supplies the love that draws the heart toward the Divine, while yoga-bala — the strength built through years of practice — supplies the steadiness to hold that focus even as the body fails. Neither alone is enough; the yogi succeeds because feeling and skill have ripened together. For the seeker, the lesson is that the calm of the final hour is earned in advance, through a life in which devotion and disciplined practice grow side by side.
💡 Key Takeaway
A serene and focused death is earned in life by ripening devotion and disciplined practice together, not separately.
Related Verses
अधियज्ञः कथं कोऽत्र देहेऽस्मिन्मधुसूदन | प्रयाणकाले च कथं ज्ञेयोऽसि नियतात्मभिः ||८-२||
adhiyajñaḥ kathaṃ ko.atra dehe.asminmadhusūdana . prayāṇakāle ca kathaṃ jñeyo.asi niyatātmabhiḥ ||8-2||
8.2 Who and how is Adhiyajna here in this body, O destroyer of Madhu (Krishna)? And how at the time of death, art Thou to be known by the self-controlled?
अधिभूतं क्षरो भावः पुरुषश्चाधिदैवतम् | अधियज्ञोऽहमेवात्र देहे देहभृतां वर ||८-४||
adhibhūtaṃ kṣaro bhāvaḥ puruṣaścādhidaivatam . adhiyajño.ahamevātra dehe dehabhṛtāṃ vara ||8-4||
8.4 Adhibhuta (knowledge of the elements) pertains to My perishable Nature and the Purusha or the Soul is the Adhidaiva; I alone am the Adhiyajna here in this body, O best among the embodied (men).
अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम् | यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः ||८-५||
antakāle ca māmeva smaranmuktvā kalevaram . yaḥ prayāti sa madbhāvaṃ yāti nāstyatra saṃśayaḥ ||8-5||
8.5 And whosoever, leaving the body, goes forth remembering Me alone, at the time of death, he attains My Being: there is no doubt about this.