8. Akshara Brahma Yoga

अर्जुन उवाच | किं तद् ब्रह्म किमध्यात्मं किं कर्म पुरुषोत्तम | अधिभूतं च किं प्रोक्तमधिदैवं किमुच्यते ||८-१||

arjuna uvāca | kiṃ tad brahma kimadhyātmaṃ kiṃ karma puruṣottama | adhibhūtaṃ ca kiṃ proktamadhidaivaṃ kimucyate ||8-1||

Arjuna said: What is that Brahman? What is the self? What is action, O Supreme Person? What is spoken of as adhibhuta, that which underlies the elements? And what is called adhidaiva, that which underlies the gods?

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||

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?

श्रीभगवानुवाच | अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं स्वभावोऽध्यात्ममुच्यते | भूतभावोद्भवकरो विसर्गः कर्मसंज्ञितः ||८-३||

śrībhagavānuvāca | akṣaraṃ brahma paramaṃ svabhāvo.adhyātmamucyate | bhūtabhāvodbhavakaro visargaḥ karmasaṃjñitaḥ ||8-3||

The Blessed Lord said Brahman is the Imperishable, the Supreme; Its essential nature is called Self-knowledge; the offering (to the gods) which causes existence and manifestation of beings and which also sustains them is called action.