SanskritGita shlokas: the self that does not die
Arjuna's grief is that people he loves will die. Krishna's first answer, in the second chapter, is about what a person really is. The body changes and ends; the one who lives in the body, called here dehi ("the embodied one") or atman ("the self"), does not.
These verses are among the most recited in India. Several are spoken at funerals and prayer meetings for their power to console. They are also some of the clearest Sanskrit in the Gita, built on simple comparisons: childhood and old age, old clothes and new, and the four elements that cannot touch the self. For a learner they are a good place to begin, because the grammar is plain and the words repeat.
The Sanskrit text is as transcribed on Sanskrit Wikisource (copied by program on 12 November 2026), and has not yet been compared with a printed edition; please check before reciting or printing. The meanings and notes are our own plain rendering. See About.
Bhagavad Gita 2.13
देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा ।
तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुह्यति ॥
dehino'sminyathā dehe kaumāram yauvanam jarā.
tathā dehāntaraprāptirdhīrastatra na muhyati.
Hindiजैसे इस शरीर में रहने वाले जीवात्मा को बचपन, जवानी और बुढ़ापा मिलता है, वैसे ही उसे दूसरा शरीर मिलता है। धीर पुरुष इस बात से मोह में नहीं पड़ता।
EnglishAs the dweller in this body passes through childhood, youth and old age, so too it passes into another body. The wise are not confused by this.
NoteThe first of the verses on the self. It reasons from something everyone has seen: the body of a child and of an old man are utterly different, yet the person is the same.
Bhagavad Gita 2.20
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः ।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥
na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchinnāyam bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyah.
ajo nityah shāshvato'yam purāno na hanyate hanyamāne sharīre.
Hindiयह आत्मा न कभी जन्म लेता है और न मरता है; न यह होकर फिर न होने वाला है। यह अजन्मा, नित्य, शाश्वत और पुरातन है; शरीर के मारे जाने पर भी यह नहीं मारा जाता।
EnglishIt is never born, and it never dies; nor, having once been, does it cease to be. Unborn, eternal, everlasting and ancient, it is not slain when the body is slain.
NoteThe metre changes here from the usual eight-syllable line to a longer eleven-syllable line (trishtubh), which the Gita uses at moments of special weight.
Bhagavad Gita 2.22
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि ।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ॥
vāsāmsi jīrnāni yathā vihāya navāni grihnāti naro'parāni.
tathā sharīrāni vihāya jīrnānyanyāni samyāti navāni dehī.
Hindiजैसे मनुष्य पुराने कपड़े उतारकर दूसरे नए कपड़े पहन लेता है, वैसे ही जीवात्मा पुराने शरीरों को छोड़कर दूसरे नए शरीरों में चला जाता है।
EnglishAs a person casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so the embodied self casts off worn-out bodies and enters others that are new.
NotePerhaps the most famous simile in Indian thought. It is commonly recited at times of bereavement to console the grieving.
Bhagavad Gita 2.23
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥
nainam chhindanti shastrāni nainam dahati pāvakah.
na chainam kledayantyāpo na shoshayati mārutah.
Hindiइस आत्मा को शस्त्र काट नहीं सकते, आग जला नहीं सकती, पानी गीला नहीं कर सकता और हवा सुखा नहीं सकती।
EnglishWeapons do not cut it, fire does not burn it, water does not wet it, and the wind does not dry it.
NoteFour forces, four verbs, one rhythm. The repetition of "na ... na ... na" makes this an easy verse to learn by heart.
Bhagavad Gita 2.25
अव्यक्तोऽयमचिन्त्योऽयमविकार्योऽयमुच्यते ।
तस्मादेवं विदित्वैनं नानुशोचितुमर्हसि ॥
avyakto'yamachintyo'yamavikāryo'yamuchyate.
tasmādevam viditvainam nānushochitumarhasi.
Hindiयह आत्मा अव्यक्त है, चिंतन से परे है और विकार-रहित कहा जाता है। इसलिए इसे ऐसा जानकर तुम्हें शोक नहीं करना चाहिए।
EnglishIt is said to be unmanifest, beyond thought and unchanging. Therefore, knowing it to be so, you should not grieve.
NoteThree words built with the negative prefix "a-": avyakta (not manifest), achintya (not thinkable), avikarya (not changeable). A good verse for seeing how Sanskrit forms negatives.
Bhagavad Gita 2.27
जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च ।
तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥
jātasya hi dhruvo mrityurdhruvam janma mritasya cha.
tasmādaparihārye'rthe na tvam shochitumarhasi.
Hindiजो जन्मा है उसकी मृत्यु निश्चित है, और जो मरा है उसका जन्म निश्चित है। इसलिए जिसे टाला नहीं जा सकता, उसके लिए तुम्हें शोक नहीं करना चाहिए।
EnglishFor one who is born, death is certain; and for one who has died, birth is certain. Therefore you should not grieve over what cannot be avoided.
NoteThe first line is widely quoted on its own as a proverb about the certainty of death.
How to study these verses
Read the Sanskrit aloud first, slowly, using the roman line only if you need it. Then read the meaning, and go back to the Sanskrit to see which words carry it. To understand the verse word by word, follow the four steps in how to read a shloka; the case endings and the small unchanging words will do most of the work. Learning one verse a week by heart is a good pace.