Bhagavad Gita BG 2.19
Chapter 2, Verse 19 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम् । उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते ॥ १९ ॥
ya enaṃ vetti hantāraṃ yaś cainaṃ manyate hatam ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṃ hanti na hanyate
Meaning
He who thinks that the soul is a slayer and he who thinks that the soul is slain — both of them fail to perceive the truth. The soul neither slays nor is slain.
Understanding
This verse makes an absolute statement: the soul cannot kill and cannot be killed. Both the one who thinks 'I am killing' and the one who thinks 'I am being killed' are under a fundamental misapprehension. This is radical: if the soul is the true 'I', then 'I' neither kills nor is killed. What is killed is the body — temporary, perishable. What Arjuna fears he will do — kill his kinsmen — is impossible at the level of the soul.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| वेत्ति | vetti | thinks / knows / considers |
| हन्तारम् | hantāram | a slayer / one who kills |
| हतम् | hatam | slain / killed |
| न विजानीतः | na vijānītaḥ | do not understand / fail to perceive |
| न हन्ति | na hanti | does not slay / does not kill |
| न हन्यते | na hanyate | is not slain / is not killed |
| यः | yaḥ | he who / one who |
| एनम् | enam | this / it (the soul) |
| यः च | yaś ca | and he who / the one who |
| उभौ | ubhau | both (of them) |
| तौ | tau | those two / they both |