Bhagavad Gita BG 2.24
Chapter 2, Verse 24 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योऽयमक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च । नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुरचलोऽयं सनातनः ॥ २४ ॥
acchedyo 'yam adāhyo 'yam akledyo 'śoṣya eva ca nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur acalo 'yaṃ sanātanaḥ
Meaning
This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. It is everlasting, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
Understanding
A continuation of the previous verse, now listing positive attributes: 'acchedya' (unbreakable), 'adāhya' (unburnable), 'akledya' (indissoluble), 'aśoṣya' (undryable), 'nitya' (everlasting), 'sarva-gata' (all-pervading), 'sthāṇu' (stable, like a post), 'acala' (immovable), and 'sanātana' (eternal). Nine qualities in two lines — together they paint the complete picture of the soul as utterly beyond change, beyond destruction, beyond any limitation of time or space.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| अच्छेद्यः | acchedyaḥ | unbreakable / that which cannot be cut |
| अदाह्यः | adāhyaḥ | unburnable / that which fire cannot burn |
| नित्यः | nityaḥ | everlasting / eternal |
| सर्वगतः | sarva-gataḥ | all-pervading / going everywhere |
| स्थाणुः | sthāṇuḥ | stable / fixed / like a pillar |
| अचलः | acalaḥ | immovable / unshakeable |
| सनातनः | sanātanaḥ | eternal / the most ancient / primordial |
| अयम् | ayam | this (soul — subject throughout) |
| अक्लेद्यः | akledyaḥ | cannot be moistened / undissolvable |
| अशोष्यः | aśoṣyaḥ | cannot be dried / cannot be withered |
| एव | eva | indeed / certainly (emphatic) |
| च | ca | and (conjunction) |