अन्तकाले च मामेव स्मरन्मुक्त्वा कलेवरम् । यः प्रयाति स मद्भावं याति नास्त्यत्र संशयः ॥
antakāle ca māmeva smaranmuktvā kalevaram | yaḥ prayāti sa madbhāvaṃ yāti nāstyatra saṃśayaḥ ||
Translation
And whoever, at the time of death, leaves the body remembering Me alone — comes to My state. Of this there is no doubt.
Interpretation
The central teaching of Chapter 8 stated with complete clarity and certainty (nastya tra samshaya — no doubt about this). Whatever one thinks of at the moment of death determines one's next destination. This is not arbitrary but a law of consciousness: the final impression, the last configuration of the mind, propels the departing soul into its next experience. To remember the Divine at death is to be drawn toward the Divine. This is why the Gita emphasizes constant practice — so that the Divine becomes the natural resting place of the mind, ready to be remembered effortlessly even at death.