अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम् । यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥
avyakto'kṣara ityuktastamāhuḥ paramāṃ gatim | yaṃ prāpya na nivartante taddḥāma paramaṃ mama ||
Translation
That unmanifest, called the Imperishable — it is declared to be the supreme goal. Having reached which, none return — that is My supreme abode.
Interpretation
The higher unmanifest is given its name: aksharaṃ — the Imperishable. This is declared to be the param gatim — the supreme destination. And the defining characteristic: yam prapya na nivartante — having reached which, none return. It is the final stop, the last homecoming. And then the personal statement: tat dhama paramam mama — 'that is My supreme abode.' The Imperishable is not something other than the Divine; it is the Divine's own essential nature, the home from which the Divine never departed.