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Chapter 2 · Contents of the Gītā Summarized · 72 verses

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Soul & knowledgeChapter 2 · Contents of the Gītā Summarized

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 2.20

The soul does not die

न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचि-

न्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः ।

अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो

न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥ २० ॥

na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin

nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ

ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo

na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre

Translation

For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

The Soul Never Dies

  1. 1The soul is unborn and eternal. He is not killed when the body is killed.
  2. 2The body grows, ages and dies, but the soul remains unchanged. Consciousness shows that the soul is present.
  3. 3The individual soul can forget his real nature, but Kṛṣṇa never forgets. Kṛṣṇa’s teachings help the soul understand his real nature.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 2, Contents of the Gītā Summarized: the eternal soul beyond bodily death.

What it teaches

Study note

A strong ontological declaration clarifies the difference between body and self.

How it feels

Interpretive

Spiritual assurance

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Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Individual soul

The soul is neither born nor destroyed.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What changes when I view life through the eternity of the soul?

Practice

Contemplate the difference between the eternal self and the temporary body.

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The story behind it

Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.

All stories for chapter 2 ›
5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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