Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 23

Contents

• 1 नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावक: |
• 2 न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुत: || 23||
• 3 भावार्थ:
• 4 Translation

नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावक: |

न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुत: || 23||

nainaṁ chhindanti śhastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na chainaṁ kledayantyāpo na śhoṣhayati mārutaḥ

भावार्थ:

इस आत्मा को शस्त्र नहीं काट सकते, इसको आग नहीं जला सकती, इसको जल नहीं गला सकता और वायु नहीं सुखा सकता॥23॥

Translation

Weapons cannot shred the soul, nor can fire burn it. Water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it.

English Translation Of Sri Shankaracharya’s Sanskrit Commentary By Swami Gambirananda

2.23 Why does It verily remain unchanged? This is being answered in, ‘Weapons do not cut It,’ etc. Sastrani, weapons; na, do not; chindanti, cut; enam, It, the embodied one under discussion. It being partless, weapons like sword etc. do not cut off Its limbs. So also, even pavakah, fire; na dahati enam, does not burn, does not reduce It to ashes. Ca, and similarly; apah, water; na enam kledayanti, does not moisten It. For water has the power of disintegrating a substance that has parts, by the process of moistening it. That is not possible in the case of the partless Self. Similarly, air destroys an oil substance by drying up the oil. Even marutah, air; na sosayati, does not dry; (enam, It,) one’s own Self. [Ast. reads ‘enam tu atmanam, but this Self’, in place of enam svatmanam.-Tr.]

📖 Related: Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 4, Verse 16