Bhagavad Gita BG 2.22
Chapter 2, Verse 22 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि । तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ॥ २२ ॥
vāsāṃsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro 'parāṇi tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny anyāni saṃyāti navāni dehī
Meaning
Just as a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.
Understanding
The Gita's most famous and beloved analogy: the soul changing bodies is like a person changing clothes. We do not grieve when we exchange worn-out clothes for new ones — we understand it as natural and positive. Why then should we grieve when the soul exchanges a worn-out body for a new one? The analogy makes the abstract philosophical teaching immediate and practical. The soul (dehī — one who has a body) simply moves on.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| वासांसि | vāsāṃsi | garments / clothes |
| जीर्णानि | jīrṇāni | worn out / old / tattered |
| विहाय | vihāya | giving up / casting off / discarding |
| नवानि | navāni | new / fresh |
| गृह्णाति | gṛhṇāti | takes / accepts / puts on |
| देही | dehī | the soul / the one who has a body |
| संयाति | saṃyāti | goes / moves to / passes into |
| यथा | yathā | just as / even as |
| नरः | naraḥ | a person / a man |
| अपराणि | aparāṇi | others / different (new garments) |
| तथा | tathā | similarly / in the same way |
| शरीराणि | śarīrāṇi | bodies (plural) |