Ashocyan anvashocase prajnavadams ca bhashase gatasun agatasumsh ca nanushocanti panditah
Krishna says Arjuna grieves for those who should not be grieved for, yet speaks words of wisdom. The truly wise do not grieve for either the dead or the living. This verse strikes at the root of Arjuna's delusion — grief born of ignorance about the immortal nature of the soul.
- •The wise do not grieve for the living or the dead
- •True wisdom recognizes the indestructible nature of the self
- •Grief arises from ignorance of the soul's eternal nature
Na tv evaham jatu nasam na tvam neme janadhipah na caiva na bhavisyamah sarve vayam atah param
Krishna declares that there was never a time when He, Arjuna, or all these kings did not exist, and there will never be a time when any of them will cease to exist. This establishes the eternal and continuous nature of individual consciousness, negating the fear of annihilation through death.
- •The soul is eternal and has always existed
- •Individual consciousness never ceases to be
- •Fear of death is rooted in ignorance of the soul's immortality
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.
- •The soul is eternal and unchanging
- •Physical changes don't affect the soul
- •Death is merely a transition
Yam hi na vyathayanty ete purusham purusharshabha, sama-duhkha-sukham dhiram so 'mritatvaya kalpate
O best among men, the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.
- •Equanimity is the path to immortality
- •Balance in pleasure and pain
- •Mental steadiness leads to liberation
Avinashi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idam tatam vinasham avyayasyasya na kashcit kartum arhati
Krishna says know that to be indestructible by which all this universe is pervaded. No one is able to cause the destruction of the imperishable. The soul pervades and underlies all of existence and cannot be destroyed by any force, since it is the very ground of being itself.
- •The soul pervades all of existence
- •Nothing can destroy the imperishable Atman
- •Recognition of the all-pervading self leads to fearlessness
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.
- •The body is temporary; the soul is eternal
- •Understanding soul-body distinction removes the fear of death
- •This knowledge empowers right action without attachment
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.
- •The soul is beyond the duality of killing and being killed
- •Mistaking the body for the self is the root of war-related grief
- •True knowledge of the self dissolves all violent misconceptions
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.
- •The soul is unborn, deathless, and eternal
- •Birth and death apply only to the body, not the self
- •Knowledge of the soul's immortality destroys the fear of death
Nainam chindanti shastrani nainam dahati pavakah, na chainam kledayanty apo na shoshayati marutah
Weapons cannot shred the soul, nor can fire burn it. Water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it.
- •The soul is indestructible
- •Physical forces cannot harm the eternal self
- •True nature is beyond material elements
Dehi nityam avadhyo 'yam dehe sarvasya bharata tasmat sarvani bhutani na tvam shocitum arhasi
The soul dwelling in the body of every being is eternal and can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature. Since the inner self is indestructible in all beings, grief over any loss of life is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what we truly are.
- •Every being contains the indestructible soul
- •Universal recognition of the soul's immortality removes grief
- •Compassion grounded in wisdom, not ignorance, is true compassion
Jneyam yat tat pravakshyami yaj jnatvamrtam ashnute, anadimat param brahma na sat tan nasad ucyate
I shall now describe that which is to be known, knowing which one attains immortality. It is beginningless supreme Brahman, which is said to be neither being nor non-being.
- •Knowledge of Brahman leads to immortality
- •The absolute transcends categories
- •Beyond existence and non-existence
Jneyam yat tat pravakshyami yaj jnatva 'mritam ashnute, anadir mat-param brahma na sat tan nasad ucyate
I shall now explain the knowable, knowing which you shall taste the eternal. Brahman, the supreme, is beginningless and subordinate to Me; it is said to be neither being nor non-being. The ultimate object of knowledge is the transcendent Brahman.
- •Knowledge of Brahman leads to immortality
- •Brahman is beginningless and beyond material categories
- •The knowable is the supreme transcendent reality
Gunan etan atitya trin dehi deha-samudbhavan, janma-mrityu-jara-duhkhair vimukto 'mritam ashnute
When the embodied being transcends these three gunas associated with the body, they are freed from birth, death, old age, and suffering, and attains immortality.
- •Transcending the gunas brings liberation
- •Freedom from the cycle of birth and death
- •Immortality through transcendence