Bhagavad Gita 2.20 meaningEternal nature of soul
In simple wordsSo simple a child gets it
“The real you was never born and will never die.”
What it means
“The self is never born and never dies. It did not come into being and will not cease to be. It is ancient and eternal, and it is not destroyed when the body is.”
The original Sanskrit · known as “Na Jayate Mriyate Va Kadachin”
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन् नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः । अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin nāyaṃ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ ajo nityaḥ śāśvato.ayaṃ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
Translations
Literal translation
Never is this One born, and never does It die; nor is it that having come to exist, It will again cease to be. This One is birthless, eternal, undecaying, ancient; It is not killed when the body is killed.
Swami Gambhirananda
हिंदी अनुवाद
यह आत्मा किसी काल में भी न जन्मता है और न मरता है और न यह एक बार होकर फिर अभावरूप होने वाला है। यह आत्मा अजन्मा, नित्य, शाश्वत और पुरातन है, शरीर के नाश होने पर भी इसका नाश नहीं होता।
Swami Tejomayananda
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Commentaries
How great teachers across 1,200 years have explained this verse.
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Keep reading · 2.22“As a person puts on new clothes and throws away old ones, the self leaves worn-out bodies and takes on new ones.”