Shloka

मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दुःखालयमशाश्वतम् |
नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मानः संसिद्धिं परमां गताः ||८-१५||

Transliteration

māmupetya punarjanma duḥkhālayamaśāśvatam .
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṃsiddhiṃ paramāṃ gatāḥ ||8-15||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

8.15. Having attained Me, the men of great soul who have achieved the supreme perfection, do not get the transient rirth, a store-house of all troubles.

Shri Purohit Swami

8.15 Coming thus unto Me, these great souls go no more to the misery and death of earthly life, for they have gained perfection.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

8.15 Mam upetya etc. In the next verse it is going to be asserted that from all others (other goals) one has to return back. But [in the present verse it is declared that ] ‘having attained Me, the Yogins do not again suffer from fear of rirth etc.’

Sri Ramanuja

8.15 Having attained Me, they are not subject to rirth, which leads to a condition that is transient and an abode of sorrow. These great souls, i.e., men of noble minds, worship and attains Me as the sorrow object of attainment; because they possess knowledge of My essential nature as it really is; they are unable to maintain or sustain themselves without Me, as I am exceedingly dear to them. With their minds deeply attached to Me and completely dependent on Me, they reach Me as the supreme goal.

Sri Krsna next teaches the reason for the return to Samsara of those aspirants for Aisvarya (prosperity) and for the non-return to Samsara of those who have reached the Lord:

Sri Shankaracharya

8.15 Upetya mam, as a result of reaching Me who am God-as a result of realizing My nature; mahatmanah, the exalted ones, the monks; gatah, who have attained; the paramam, highest; samsiddhim, perfection, called Liberation; na, do not; apnuvanti, get; this kind of punarjanama, rirth. As to what kind of rirth they do not get, the Lord states its characteristics-duhkhalayam, which is an abode of sorrows, a resort of physical and other sorrows, i.e. a birth to which sorrows adhere. It is not merely an abode of sorrows, but also asavatam, impermanent, having no fixity of nature. On the other hand, those who do not reach Me, they come again. Again, ‘Is it that those who attain someone other than You return?’ This is being answered:

Swami Adidevananda

8.15 As a result of reaching Me, the exalted ones who have attained the highest perfection do not get rirth which is an abode of sorrows and which is impermanent.

8.15 Having attained Me these great souls do not again take birth (here) which is the place of pain and is non-eternal: they have reached the highest perfection (liberation).

8.15 Upetya mam, as a result of reaching Me who am God-as a result of realizing My nature; mahatmanah, the exalted ones, the monks; gatah, who have attained; the paramam, highest; samsiddhim, perfection, called Liberation; na, do not; apnuvanti, get; this kind of punarjanama, rirth. As to what kind of rirth they do not get, the Lord states its characteristics-duhkhalayam, which is an abode of sorrows, a resort of physical and other sorrows, i.e. a birth to which sorrows adhere. It is not merely an abode of sorrows, but also asavatam, impermanent, having no fixity of nature. On the other hand, those who do not reach Me, they come again. Again, ‘Is it that those who attain someone other than You return?’ This is being answered:

Swami Gambirananda

8.15 As a result of reaching Me, the exalted ones who have attained the highest perfection do not get rirth which is an abode of sorrows and which is impermanent.

Swami Sivananda

8.15 Having attained Me these great souls do not again take birth (here) which is the place of pain and is non-eternal: they have reached the highest perfection (liberation).

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

8.15 माम् to Me? उपेत्य having attained? पुनर्जन्म rirth? दुःखालयम् the place of pain? अशाश्वतम् noneternal? न not? आप्नुवन्ति get? महात्मानः Mahatmas or the great souls? संसिद्धिम् to perfection? परमाम् highest? गताः having reached.Commentary Birth is the home of pain or seat of sorrow arising from the body. Study the Garbhopanishad. There the nature of pain? i.e.? how the child is confined in the womb? and how it is pressed during its passage along the vaginal canal and the neck of the womb or uterus? is described. Further it is much affected by the PrasutiVayu (the vital air which is responsible for the delivery of the child).Mahatmas (great souls) are free from Rajas and Tamas.Having attained Me This denotes KramaMukti or gradual liberation. The devotees who pass along the Devayana through the force of their Upasana? attain to Brahmaloka (the world of Brahma the Creator) or Satyaloka (the world of truth? the highest of the seven worlds) and there enjoy all the divine wealth and glory of the Lord and then attain to Kaivalya Moksha (final liberation) through the knowledge of Brahman? along with Brahma during the cosmic dissolution.Mahatmas or great souls who have attained Moksha do not come again to birth. Those who have not attained Me? take birth again in this world.