आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन | मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते || १६ ||
ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate
ā-brahma-bhuvanāt—up to the realm of Brahma; lokāḥ—all worlds; punaḥ—again; āvartinaḥ—subject to return; arjuna—O Arjuna; mām—Me; upetya—having attained; tu—but; kaunteya—O son of Kunti; punaḥ—again; janma—birth; na—not; vidyate—exists.
“All worlds up to the realm of Brahma are subject to return, O Arjuna. But for one who attains Me, O son of Kunti, there is no more rebirth.”
Even the highest heavenly realms within the cosmos—Brahmaloka itself—are still within the domain of time and therefore subject to dissolution. The eternal liberation (mokṣa) that Krishna offers is not a destination within the cosmos but a transcendence of the very cycle of manifestation and dissolution.
This verse invites us to ask: what kind of attainment are we ultimately seeking? Pleasure, comfort, even spiritual experiences—all of these are within the realm of the perishable. The only thing worth making central in life is that which does not come and go. This is the inquiry of jijñāsā—sincere desire to know the truth.