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BHAGAVAD GITA
Na hanyate hanyamaane shareere.
20. He is not born nor does He ever die; after having been, He again ceases not to be. Unborn, eternal, changeless and ancient, He is not killed when the body is killed,
Vedaavinaashinam nityam ya enam ajam avyayam; Katham sa purushah paartha kam ghaatayati hanti kam.
21. Whosoever knows Him to be indestructible, eternal, unborn and inexhaustible, how can that man slay, 0 Arjuna, or cause to be slain?
Vaasaamsi jeernaani yathaa vihaaya
Navaani grihnaati naro'paraani; Tathaa shareeraani vihaaya jeernaa
Nyanyaani samyaati navaani dehee.
22. Just as a man casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so also the embodied Self casts off worn-out bodies and enters others that are new.
Nainam cchindanti shastraani nainam dahati paavakah; Na chainam kledayantyaapo na shoshayati maarutah.
23. Weapons cut It not, fire burns It not, water wets It not, wind dries It not.
COMMENTARY: The Self is partless. It is infinite and extremely subtle. So the sword cannot cut It, fire cannot burn It, wind cannot dry It.
Acchedyo 'yam adaahyo'yam akledyo 'shoshya eva cha; Nityah sarvagatah sthaanur achalo'yam sanaatanah.
24. This Self cannot be cut, burnt, wetted nor dried up. It is eternal, all-pervading, stable, ancient and immovable.
Avyakto'yam achintyo'yam avikaaryo'yam uchyate; Tasmaad evam viditwainam naanushochitum arhasi.
25. This (Self) is said to be unmanifested, unthinkable and unchangeable. Therefore, knowing This to be such, thou shouldst not grieve.
Atha chainam nityajaatam nityam vaa manyase mritam; Tathaapi twam mahaabaaho naivam shochitum arhasi.
26. But, even if thou thinkest of It as being constantly born and dying, even then, O mighty-armed, thou shouldst not grieve!