Death

Dehino'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara, tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati

As the embodied soul continuously passes through childhood, youth, and old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.

Antavanta ime deha nityasyoktah sharirinal anashinah aprameyasya tasmat yudhyasva bharata

Krishna says these physical bodies of the eternal, indestructible, and immeasurable soul are said to have an end. Therefore, O Arjuna, fight. The body is temporal and will perish, but the soul within is eternal. Understanding this truth liberates one from the false grief of bodily death.

Ya enam vetti hantaram yash chainam manyate hatam ubhau tau na vijanito nayam hanti na hanyate

Krishna says that one who thinks the soul is a slayer and one who thinks it is slain — neither of them knows. The soul neither slays nor is slain. The confusion about killing and being killed on the battlefield rests entirely on the mistaken identification of the self with the body.

Na jayate mriyate va kadacin nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah ajo nityah shashvato 'yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sharire

The soul is never born nor dies at any time. It has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval. It is not slain when the body is slain. This is one of the most celebrated descriptions of the immortal Atman in all scripture.

Vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya navani grhnati naro 'parani, tatha sharirani vihaya jirnany anyani samyati navani dehi

As a person sheds worn-out garments and wears new ones, likewise, at the time of death, the soul casts off its worn-out body and enters a new one.

Atha chainam nitya-jatam nityam va manyase mritam tathapi tvam maha-baho nainam shocitum arhasi

Even if you believe the soul is constantly being born and constantly dying, O mighty-armed, you should still not grieve. Even from the conventional standpoint of those who do not accept the Vedic view of the soul's immortality, grief is still irrational. Death is inevitable and beyond our control.

Jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur dhruvam janma mritasya ca tasmad apariharye 'rthe na tvam shocitum arhasi

For the one who is born, death is certain; and for the one who has died, birth is certain. Therefore, for this unavoidable reality, you should not grieve. The cycle of birth and death is inevitable and universal. Grief over what cannot be avoided is a waste of energy and wisdom.

Avyaktadini bhutani vyakta-madhyani bharata avyakta-nidhanany eva tatra ka paridevana

All created beings are unmanifest before birth, manifest in the middle state, and unmanifest again after death. So what is there to lament? Existence moves from the unmanifest through manifestation back to the unmanifest — what we call death is simply a return to the prior state. There is no cause for sorrow.

Akirtim capi bhutani kathayishyanti te 'vyayam sambhavitasya cakirtir maranad atiricyate

People will always speak of your infamy, and for a man who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death. For one whose honor and reputation are his identity, disgrace is a living death. The social and spiritual costs of cowardice far outweigh any physical suffering on the battlefield.

Anta-kale cha mam eva smaran muktva kalevaram, yah prayati sa mad-bhavam yati nasty atra sanshayah

Whoever, at the end of their life, quits the body remembering Me alone, attains My nature. Of this, there is no doubt.

Prayana-kale manasacalena bhaktya yukto yoga-balena caiva, bhruvor madhye pranam aveshya samyak sa tam param purusham upaiti divyam

One who at the time of death fixes the life-air between the eyebrows with devotion and the power of yoga, with the mind not deviating — that person attains the divine Supreme Person. The yogic practice of drawing the prana to the ajna chakra (between the eyebrows) at the moment of death facilitates conscious union with the Divine.

Yatra kale tv anavrittim avrittim caiva yoginah, prayata yanti tam kalam vakshyami bharatarshabha

O best of the Bharatas, I shall now explain the different times at which, departing from this world, yogis either do not return or do return. Krishna introduces the teaching of the two paths — the bright path of no-return and the dark path of return — revealing that even the time of death influences the spiritual outcome.

Mrityuh sarva-harash caham udbhavash ca bhavishyatam, kirtih shrir vak ca narinam smritir medha dhritih kshama

I am all-devouring death, and I am the origin of all things yet to come. Among feminine qualities I am fame, prosperity, speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness, and forgiveness. Death, the great equaliser, is not separate from God — even the end of all things is a divine act. The feminine virtues represent the noblest qualities of human character.

Yada sattve pravriddhe tu pralayam yati deha-bhrit, tadottama-vidam lokan amalan pratipadyate

When one dies in the mode of goodness, one attains the pure higher worlds of the great sages. The guna predominant at death determines one's next destination — those who die in sattva ascend to higher planes of purity and knowledge.

Rajasi pralayam gatva karma-sangishu jayate, tatha pralinas tamasi mudha-yonishu jayate

Dying in rajas, one is born among those attached to fruitive activities. Dying in tamas, one is born in the animal kingdom. The destiny shaped by one's predominant guna extends into future lives — passion leads to human rebirth, ignorance to lower species.

Shariram yad avapnoti yac capy utkramatishvarah, grhitvaitani samyati vayur gandhan ivashayat

As the wind carries aromas from their source, so the living entity, who is the lord of the body, carries the mind and senses from one body to another when it gives up one form and takes another. This verse illuminates the subtle mechanics of transmigration — the soul carries its accumulated mental and sensory impressions into the next life.

anistam istam misram ca tri-vidham karmanah phalam bhavaty atyaginam pretya na tu sannyasinam kvacit

After death, those who are not renunciants receive the threefold fruits of their actions — the undesirable, the desirable, and the mixed. But for true renunciants who have given up attachment to fruits, no such fruits arise at all.