Bhagavad Gita 2.19
Sankhya Yoga · English Translation
Sanskrit
य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम् | उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते ||२-१९||
Transliteration
ya enaṃ vetti hantāraṃ yaścainaṃ manyate hatam ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṃ hanti na hanyate ||2-19||
He who takes the Self to be the slayer and he who thinks It is slain, neither of them ï1knowsï1. It slays not, nor is It slain.
Word by Word
यः he who, एनम् this (Self), वेत्ति knows, हन्तारम् slayer, यः he who, च and, एनम् this, मन्यते thinks, हतम् slain, उभौ both, तौ those, न not, विजानीतः know, न not, अयम् this, हन्ति slays, न not, हन्यते is slain
Classical Commentary
-- The Self is nondoer (Akarta) and as It is immutable? It is neither the agent nor the object of the act of slaying. He who thinks I slay or I am slain with the body or the Ahamkara (ego), he does not really comprehend the true nature of the Self. The Self is indestructible. It exists in the three periods of time. It is Sat (Existence). When the body is destroyed, the Self is not destroyed. The body has to undergo change in any case. It is inevitable. But the Self is not at all affected by it. Verses 19? 20? 21? 23 and 24 speak of the immortality of the Self or Atman. (Cf. XVIII.17)