य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश् चैनं मन्यते हतम् ॥
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते ॥
न जायते म्रियते वा कदा चिन्; नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः ॥
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतो ऽयं पुराणो; न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥
वेदाविनाशिनं नित्यं य एनम् अजम् अव्ययम् ॥
कथं स पुरुषः पार्थ कं घातयति हन्ति कम् ॥
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय; नवानि गृह्णाति नरो ऽपराणि ॥
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्य्; अन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ॥
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ॥
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्य् आपो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥
अच्छेद्यो ऽयम् अदाह्यो ऽयम् अक्लेद्यो ऽशोष्य एव च ॥
नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुर् अचलो ऽयं सनातनः ॥
अव्यक्तो ऽयम् अचिन्त्यो ऽयम् अविकार्यो ऽयम् उच्यते ॥
तस्माद् एवं विदित्वैनं नानुशोचितुम् अर्हसि ॥
अथ चैनं नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम् ॥
तथापि त्वं महाबाहो नैनं शोचितुम् अर्हसि ॥
जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर् ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च ॥
तस्माद् अपरिहार्ये ऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुम् अर्हसि ॥
अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत ॥
अव्यक्तनिधनान्य् एव तत्र का परिदेवना ॥
आश्चर्यवत् पश्यति कश् चिद् एनम्; आश्चर्यवद् वदति तथैव चान्यः ॥
आश्चर्यवच् चैनम् अन्यः शृणोति; श्रुत्वाप्य् एनं वेद न चैव कश् चित् ॥
देही नित्यम् अवध्यो ऽयं देहे सर्वस्य भारत ॥
तस्मात् सर्वाणि भूतानि न त्वं शोचितुम् अर्हसि ॥
ya enaṃ vetti hantāraṃ yaś cainaṃ manyate hatam ||
ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṃ hanti na hanyate ||
na jāyate mriyate vā kadā cin; nāyaṃ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ ||
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṃ purāṇo; na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre ||
vedāvināśinaṃ nityaṃ ya enam ajam avyayam ||
kathaṃ sa puruṣaḥ pārtha kaṃ ghātayati hanti kam ||
vāsāṃsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya; navāni gṛhṇāti naro 'parāṇi ||
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny; anyāni saṃyāti navāni dehī ||
nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṃ dahati pāvakaḥ ||
na cainaṃ kledayanty āpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ ||
acchedyo 'yam adāhyo 'yam akledyo 'śoṣya eva ca ||
nityaḥ sarvagataḥ sthāṇur acalo 'yaṃ sanātanaḥ ||
avyakto 'yam acintyo 'yam avikāryo 'yam ucyate ||
tasmād evaṃ viditvainaṃ nānuśocitum arhasi ||
atha cainaṃ nityajātaṃ nityaṃ vā manyase mṛtam ||
tathāpi tvaṃ mahābāho nainaṃ śocitum arhasi ||
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur dhruvaṃ janma mṛtasya ca ||
tasmād aparihārye 'rthe na tvaṃ śocitum arhasi ||
avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyaktamadhyāni bhārata ||
avyaktanidhanāny eva tatra kā paridevanā ||
āścaryavat paśyati kaś cid enam; āścaryavad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ ||
āścaryavac cainam anyaḥ śṛṇoti; śrutvāpy enaṃ veda na caiva kaś cit ||
dehī nityam avadhyo 'yaṃ dehe sarvasya bhārata ||
tasmāt sarvāṇi bhūtāni na tvaṃ śocitum arhasi ||
"He who thinks of this atman as the slayer, and he who thinks it slain, both fail to understand: it neither kills nor is killed. It is never born and never dies; it has not come into being at some time, nor will it come into being again. It is unborn, eternal, everlasting, primeval; it is not slain when the body is slain. O son of Pritha, how can a man who knows it to be indestructible, eternal, unborn, and unchanging kill anyone, or cause anyone to be killed? As a man casts off worn-out garments and puts on others that are new, so the embodied one casts off worn-out bodies and passes on to others that are new. Weapons do not cut it, fire does not burn it, water does not wet it, and wind does not wither it. It cannot be cut, burned, wetted, or withered; it is eternal, all-pervading, unmoving, immovable, and everlasting. It is called unmanifest, inconceivable, and unchangeable; therefore, knowing it thus, you should not grieve. But even if you consider it to be perpetually born and perpetually dying, O mighty-armed one, still you should not grieve for it. For the one who is born, death is certain, and for the one who has died, birth is certain; therefore you should not grieve over what cannot be averted. Beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their middle state, and unmanifest again at their end, O Bharata: what is there to lament in this? One sees this atman as a marvel, another speaks of it as a marvel, another hears of it as a marvel; yet even having heard, no one truly comprehends it. The embodied one dwelling in every body is forever unslayable, O Bharata; therefore you should not grieve for any being."
e3a6654b8f27 · published Jul 17, 2026, 8:55:05 PM UTC
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Krishna unveils the invulnerability of the soul through a series of images: clothing, weapons, fire, water, wind, the manifest and the unmanifest. The meaning is one: the body enters into change, but the person as dehī is not destroyed by it.