Bhagavad Gita BG 2.28
Chapter 2, Verse 28 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत । अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव तत्र का परिदेवना ॥ २८ ॥
avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyakta-madhyāni bhārata avyakta-nidhanāny eva tatra kā paridevanā
Meaning
All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in the middle, and unmanifest again at death. So what cause is there for lamentation?
Understanding
A cosmic view of existence: all beings emerge from the unmanifest (avyakta) into manifestation, remain manifest for their middle period (their life), and return to the unmanifest at death. Before birth — invisible. During life — visible. After death — invisible again. The pattern is: unmanifest → manifest → unmanifest. If beings were unmanifest before and return to unmanifest after, what exactly has been lost? The question 'tatra kā paridevanā' — where then is the cause for lamentation — stands as its own answer.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| अव्यक्तादीनि | avyaktādīni | unmanifest in the beginning |
| भूतानि | bhūtāni | created beings / all that exists |
| व्यक्तमध्यानि | vyakta-madhyāni | manifest in the middle (during life) |
| अव्यक्तनिधनानि | avyakta-nidhanāni | unmanifest at the end / death |
| का परिदेवना | kā paridevanā | what cause for lamentation? / what is the cause for grief? |
| भारत | bhārata | O Bharata (addressing Dhritarashtra) |
| एव | eva | only / indeed (emphatic) |
| तत्र | tatra | therefore / for that reason |