Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 20 (2.20)

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Reflective Prompt:

How do you feel when you remember that every body will one day die? This is a serious question, but Krishna does not bring it up to create fear. He brings it up to help Arjuna see that the deepest self is not destroyed with the body.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 20 (2.20)

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न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन् । नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः | | अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो | न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे | | २-२० | |

na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchin nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ ajo nityaḥ śhāśhvato’yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śharīre

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Word-by-word guide:

Line 1:

• न (na) — नहीं(is not killed)
• जायते (jayate) — जन्म लेता है(is not born)
• इयए (mriyate) — इयए(nor ever dies)
• वा (va) — अथवा(nor ever dies)
• कदइ (kadachit) — कदइ(nor ever dies)

Line 2:

• न (na) — नहीं(is not killed)
• यः (yah) — जो(who)
• m joined in nāyaṁ
• bu joined in bhūtvā
• त्वम् (tvam) — तुम(you)
• bav joined in bhavitā
• इति (iti) — इस प्रकार(thus)
• a joined in bhavitā
• वा (va) — अथवा(nor ever dies)
• न (na) — नहीं(is not killed)
• bu joined in bhūyaḥ
• यः (yah) — जो(who)

Line 3:

• अज (ajah) — अज(unborn)
• इय (nityah) — सनातन(eternal)
• शवत (shashvatah) — शवत(everlasting)
• यः (yah) — जो(who)
• m joined in śhāśhvato’yaṁ
• पुरनह् (puranah) — प्राचीन पुरुष(ancient)

Line 4:

• न (na) — नहीं(is not killed)
• हयए (hanyate) — हयए(is not killed)
• हयमए (hanyamane) — शरीर(when the body is killed)
• शरीरे (sharire) — शरीर(when the body is killed)

English: The self is never born and never dies; it is unborn, eternal, ancient, and not destroyed when the body is destroyed.

💡 Commentary Note

Krishna describes the self as unborn, eternal, ancient, and not destroyed when the body is destroyed. This is one of the central teachings of Chapter 2.

Arjuna's grief is rooted in seeing death as total destruction. Krishna widens that view by teaching that the true self is not killed with the body.

Learnings from Shloka 20:

• The self is unborn:: It does not begin the way the body begins.
• The self is eternal:: It is not erased by time.
• The self is ancient and ever-present:: It is not a new product of the body.
• The body can be destroyed:: But the self is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.

Gita/Sanskrit Language Quiz

Practice this shloka vocabulary

Match Sanskrit words from shloka 2.20 with their Hindi and English meanings.

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