BG 2.72
स्थित्वास्यामन्तकालेऽपि ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृच्छति ॥
sthitvāsyām anta-kāle ’pi brahma-nirvāṇam ṛcchati
Word-for-word meanings
pārtha — O son of Pṛthā; eṣā — this; brāhmī sthitiḥ — [is] the God-realized state; prāpya — having reached; enām — this; na vimuhyati — one is not deluded; sthitvā — being established; asyām — in it; anta-kāle api — even at the time of death; ṛcchati — one attains; brahma-nirvāṇam — liberation in Brahman.
Translation
O Pārtha, this is the God-realized state. Having reached it, one is never deluded. Being established in this state, even at the time of death, one attains liberation in Brahman [i.e., the state of unconditional being in association with Parabrahman*].
Notes
* The term parabrahman literally means the “Supreme Brahman” or the “Supreme Absolute.” In theistic Vedānta, it is used primarily to refer to the qualified Absolute (Bhagavān) in contradistinction to the unqualified Absolute (Brahman). The terms brahman, parabrahman, paramātmā, and bhagavān all refer to one and the same Reality. These terms are, therefore, interchangeable when used in a generic sense to refer to that Reality, as is the case in this verse with the word brahman. In its technical sense, however, brahman is used specifically to refer to the unqualified Absolute, as in Advaita-vedānta. If interpreted in this way, brahma-nirvāṇa, stated in this verse, could be taken to mean brahma-laya, or dissolution of the self in Brahman, as Śrīdhara Svāmī has done. But such an interpretation is a specification of what is otherwise a generic reference. Moreover, it is inconsistent with the overall theme of the Gītā, which is clearly theistic in nature. Hence, Brahman here is to be understood as Parabrahman, the personal Absolute, Bhagavān, and brahma-nirvāṇa as the liberated state in association with Him.