FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 2.11

श्री भगवानुवाच अशोच्यनन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे । गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः ॥ ११ ॥
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
[shree-bhagavaan uvaacha]
aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ
[ashochyaan anvashochas tvam]
prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase
[prajnaa-vaadaamsh cha bhaashase]
gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca
[gataasoon agataasoomsh cha]
nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ
[naanushochanti panditaah]
Word-for-word
śrī - bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said aśocyān — not worthy of lamentation anvaśocaḥ — you are lamenting tvam — you prajñā - vādān — learned talks ca — also bhāṣase — speaking gata — lost asūn — life agata — not passed asūn — life ca — also na — never anuśocanti — lament paṇḍitāḥ — the learned .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
śrī - bhagavān uvāca
the Supreme Personality of Godhead said
aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ
aśocyān
not worthy of lamentation
anvaśocaḥ
you are lamenting
tvam
you
prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase
prajñā - vādān
learned talks
ca
also
bhāṣase
speaking
gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca
gata
lost
asūn
life
agata
not passed
asūn
life
ca
also
nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ
na
never
anuśocanti
lament
paṇḍitāḥ
the learned .
Important Words
  • aśocyān — not worthy of grief
    The first substantive word of Kṛṣṇa's teaching. Before answering 'what should you do,' He answers 'what does not deserve your tears.' Aśocya — the eternal souls of those before you — cannot be lost, so the grief is misdirected.
  • prajñā - vādān — learned words
    Arjuna has been quoting scripture and ethics (chapter 1). Kṛṣṇa names the disconnect: the words are paṇḍita-words; the grief is mūḍha-grief. Talking like a wise man while feeling like an ignorant one is itself a recognized confusion.
  • gata - asūn — those whose breath has gone
    Asu is the vital breath. The wise do not lament those whose breath has departed — for the breath was never the person.
  • agata - asūn — those whose breath has not gone
    Nor for the living. The paṇḍita's vision is symmetric: living or dead, the body is not the self. Lament is the wrong response to either.
  • paṇḍitāḥ — the wise
    From paṇḍā — wisdom that has sunk into the self. Not learning alone; learning lived. Arjuna has the learning; the chapter will give him the living.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
Kṛṣṇa's first teaching strike: Arjuna's grief is the very contradiction of his speech. He mouths wisdom while grieving for what wisdom recognizes as ungrievable — neither corpses nor living bodies merit lamentation. The Gītā's metaphysics begins here.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
BG 2.11 is traditionally regarded as the formal start of Bhagavad-gītā's teaching proper. Pundits — who 'know' (paṇḍ-) — do not lament because they distinguish the eternal ātman from the perishing body. The two bahuvrīhis gatāsu / agatāsu cover all living beings; Arjuna's grief on either side is thus mistaken in principle.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
त्वम् अशोच्यान् अन्वशोचः, प्रज्ञा-वादान् च भाषसे । पण्डिताः गत-असून् अगत-असून् च न अनुशोचन्ति ।
tvam aśocyān anvaśocaḥ, prajñā-vādān ca bhāṣase | paṇḍitāḥ gata-asūn agata-asūn ca na anuśocanti |
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for, yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the departed nor for the not-departed.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
श्रीभगवान् उवाच
śrībhagavān uvāca
अशोच्यान् अन्वशोचः त्वम् प्रज्ञा-वादान् च भाषसे । गत-असून् अगत-असून् च न अनुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः ॥
aśocyān anvaśocaḥ tvam prajñā-vādān ca bhāṣase | gata-asūn agata-asūn ca na anuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
अशोच्यान् aśocyān अ + शोच्य (gerundive of √शुच्) acc.pl. (accusative plural)m., 'not to be grieved for' those not worthy of grief
अन्वशोचः anvaśocaḥ अनु+√शुच् impf. (imperfect) 2sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) you have been grieving
त्वम् tvam युष्मद् (pron. (pronoun)) nom.sg. (nominative singular) you
प्रज्ञा-वादान् prajñā-vādān प्रज्ञा (f.) + वाद (m.) acc.pl. (accusative plural), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound), 'speeches of wisdom' words of wisdom
च ca ind. (indeclinable), and and (yet)
भाषसे bhāṣase √भाष् pres. (present) 2sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) you speak
गत-असून् gata-asūn गत (p.p.p. (past passive participle)) + असु (m.) acc.pl. (accusative plural), bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound), 'those whose life-breaths have gone' the dead
अगत-असून् agata-asūn अ + गत + असु, bahuvrīhi cpd. (compound) acc.pl. (accusative plural)m., 'those whose breaths have not gone' the living
न अनुशोचन्ति na anuśocanti अनु+√शुच् pres. (present) 3pl.par. (parasmaipada / active voice), with न do not grieve
पण्डिताः paṇḍitāḥ पण्डित (m.) nom.pl. (nominative plural), 'the wise' the learned
Purport

The Lord at once took the position of the teacher and chastised the student, calling him, indirectly, a fool. The Lord said, “You are talking like a learned man, but you do not know that one who is learned – one who knows what is body and what is soul – does not lament for any stage of the body, neither in the living nor in the dead condition.” As explained in later chapters, it will be clear that knowledge means to know matter and spirit and the controller of both. Arjuna argued that religious principles should be given more importance than politics or sociology, but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is even more important than religious formularies. And because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man. As he did not happen to be a very learned man, he was consequently lamenting for something which was unworthy of lamentation. The body is born and is destined to be vanquished today or tomorrow; therefore the body is not as important as the soul. One who knows this is actually learned, and for him there is no cause for lamentation, regardless of the condition of the material body.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
11. The Lord said: You, while lamenting for what is not worthy of lamentation, are speaking words of wisdom. The wise men do not lament for the gross body or the subtle body.
Commentary

“O Arjuna, this lamentation of yours caused by attachment to friends and relatives is the cause of bewilderment. Your power of discernment arising from your concerns starting in verse four with ‘How can I fight against Bhīṣma and Droṇa?’ are the cause of lack of wisdom.” That is stated in this verse. “You are continually lamenting (anu śocaḥ) for what is not worthy of grief (aśocyān). Thus you are uttering words of wisdom to Me, who am trying to enlighten you. You speak words (vādān) of wisdom (prajñā) as in verse four.” The intention behind the Lord’s words is the opposite: “Actually you have no wisdom.” “This is because those who are wise (paṇḍitāḥ) do not lament for the gross bodies from which life has passed (gata asūn)—since the bodies are destructible by their very nature. Neither do they lament for the subtle bodies from which the life airs have not passed (agata asūn), [Note: The life airs go with the subtle body after death, and enter a new body along with the subtle body at birth. Viśvanātha has taken as asu literally as the life air, and agatāsūn as those bodies from which the life airs do not depart, the subtle bodies. If we were to take agatāsūn as meaning the gross body from which the life air has not yet departed, then there would be no reason for even the fool to lament for it.] for those subtle bodies will certainly be destroyed before liberation. They do not lament because they accept the inherent natures of all of the gross and subtle bodies. But fools lament when life airs pass from the gross bodies of fathers and others, and do not generally understand about the subtle bodies. Enough of such fools! All these, including Bhīṣma, are souls equipped with gross and subtle bodies. Because of the eternal nature of their souls, there is no cause for lamentation. Previously you said that dharma-śāstra was stronger than artha-śāstra. But I say here that jñāna-śāstra (teaching about ātmā) is stronger than dharma-śāstra.”

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
11. The Lord said: You, lamenting for what is not worthy of lamentation, are speaking words of wisdom. The wise men do not lament for the gross bodies, the subtle bodies, or the souls.
Commentary

As Arjuna stood silently, the Lord began deriding his intelligence. “O Arjuna, you are lamenting (anvaśocaḥ) for the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra who are not even worthy of lamentation (aśocyān). And you speak words supposedly from wise people such as ‘Seeing my relatives and friends gathered for fighting my limbs are weakening’ and ‘How can I fight those worthy of worship?’ But you do not have even a drop of wisdom. Those who are wise do not lament for the gross bodies from which the life airs has departed (gatāsūn) nor for the subtle bodies from which the life airs have not departed (agatāsūn), [Note: The life airs go with the subtle body after death. The life airs and the subtle body separate from the gross body at death.] nor for the souls (indicated by the word ca). This is the meaning. Is lamentation caused by the destruction of the gross body or the destruction of the subtle body? There should be no lamentation because the destruction of the gross bodies is inevitable due to their nature. There should be no lamentation for the destruction of the subtle body since it is indestructible until liberation. There should be no lamentation for the soul, because it is devoid of the six changes, and is eternal. There should be no cause at all of lamentation for those who know the nature of the body and the soul. It has been said that there is predominance of dharma śastra over artha śastra. That may be so, but that dharma śastra is refuted by the stronger jñāna ṣastra. The mistake of thinking things are worthy of lamentation which are not worthy of lamentation is the quality of a fool. This is not suitable to you, who are learned.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Krsna starts His instructions by telling Arjuna : "You are a fool! Now listen and you will learn something!"

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Krishna chastises Arjuna – The truly wise do not mistake the body to be the self

Those who are truly wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead LINK BETWEEN TEXTS 2.11 & 2.12: Text 2.11 serves as a prelude to Text 2.12, which will further establish spiritual truth by refuting the bodily concept of life

Focus of Learning

(a) Who is learned –Supreme Personality of Godhead ‘chastises’ Arjuna for posing as a learned man

Definition of ‘Learned Man’ – One who knows what is body and soul and does not lament for any stage of the body – Living or dead

(b) Definition of ‘Knowledge’ – To know matter, soul and supreme controller of both

(c) Different levels of sastra – Texts 2.11 – 2.30 establishes Jnana sastra (knowledge of body and

soul) to be higher than Dharma Sastra (In comparison to Arjuna’s recommendation of Dharma

Sastra / Religious principles as higher than Artha-sastra / Politics or Sociology in Bg.1.36)

(d) Arjuna called foolish because intelligence is used without considering ‘essential nature of the soul’

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF 2.11

First step in teaching is to dismantle student’s misconception which may require strong words

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SECTION II

The spirit soul is eternal and indestructible, while material nature is temporary
Because of this, one should not be bewildered by the inevitable destruction of the material body
Rather one should remain fixed in prescribed duties, which purify and allow one to realize the eternal self

(a) Krishna accepts role as per devotees desire – friend or guru, etc.; He always maintains supremacy

‘Krishna was smiling’ – Because a friend had chosen to become a disciple

(b) The Bhagavad-gita is openly discussed between the two armies – Therefore this knowledge is

not for any particular person, community or society, but for everyone

Friends and enemies are equally entitled to hear this message

SUMMARISED THEME 2A

REFUTATIONS USED BY KRISHNA IN TEXTS 2.12 – 2.30
TO DISPEL ARJUNA’S MATERIAL COMPASSION

PLEASE NOTE: The refutations presented here are based on the commentaries of the ‘acharyas’ as used in

‘Surrender unto me’. They reflect the ‘thinking’ of Arjuna and may not be seen directly expressed in the Sanskrit

verses or translations.

FIRST

Krishna says: Individuality is never lost (2.12) – All living entities are eternal and

continue their individuality in future without interruption – Therefore

no lamentation for death (2.12)

SECOND

Arjuna may argue: Change of body is still a cause of lamentation

Krishna refutes: Change of body is as natural as change of boyhood to youth to old-

age. Nobody laments for such a natural change (2.13)

THIRD

Arjuna may argue: But we do lament for loss of youth to old-age

Krishna refutes: But Bhisma and Drona will get fresh bodies which can be heavenly

birth or spiritual bodies – therefore no lamentation (2.13)

(e.g. King Yayati traded his old age and got a fresh youthful body –

that was the cause of rejoicing)

FOURTH

Arjuna may think:

But attachment to current body of relatives will still be a cause of

lamentation on losing them

Krishna advises: No choice but to tolerate such non-permanent dualities (2.14)

They arise from sense perception

FIFTH

Krishna establishes

vision of seers of truth

and rebukes arjuna

(2.16 – 2.18)

Soul is eternal / Body is temporary Implies Kauravas cannot escape

death even if Arjuna does not kill (body is sure to end – 2.18)

SIXTH

Arjuna may argue: Violence incurs sinful reaction

Violence under My direction does not incur any sinful reaction (2.21

purport)

Krishna refutes:

SEVENTH

Arjuna may argue: Bhisma and Drona will lose their present bodies which are sources of

enjoyment for them

Change of body is like change of dress – They will get fresh bodies and

thus happiness (2.22)

Krishna refutes:

EIGHTH

Anyway Arjuna’s weapons cannot kill the soul (2.23 – 2.24)

NINTH

One may think: There is no soul, the body is all in all

Krishna further

establishes:

Even if there is no soul, still there is no cause of lamentation

for a loss of chemicals (2.26)

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
2.11 Bhisma, Drona and others are not to be grieved for, because they are of noble character and are eternal in their real nature. With regard to them, asocyan, who are not to be grieved for; tvam, you; anvasocah, grieve, (thinking) 'They die because of me; without them what shall I do with dominion and enjoyment?'; ca, and; bhasase, you speak; prajnavadan, words of wisdom, words used by men of wisdom, of intelligence. The idea is, 'Like one mad, you show in yourself this foolishness and learning which are contradictory.' Because, panditah, the learned, the knowers of the Self panda means wisdon about the Self; those indeed who have this are panditah, one the authority of the Upanisadic text, '৷৷.the knowers of Brahman, having known all about scholarship,৷৷.' (Br. 3.5.1) ['Therefore the knowers of Brahman, having known all about scholorship, should try to live upon that strength which comes of Knowledge; having known all about this strength as well as scholorship, he becomes meditative; having known all about both meditativeness and its opposite, he becomes a knower of Brahman.'] ; na anusocanti, do not grieve for; gatasun, the departed, whose life has become extinct; agatasun ca, and for those who have not departed, whose life has not left, the living. The ideas is, 'Your are sorrowing for those who are eternal in the real sense, and who are not to be grieved for. Hence your are a fool!.'
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
2.11 The Lord said You are grieving for those who do not deserve to be grieved for. You also speak words of wisdom about the nature of the body and the self as follows: 'The ancestors fall degraded, deprived of the ritual oblations of food and water' (I. 42). There is no reason for such grief for those who possess the knowledge of the nature of the body and the self. Those who know the exact truth will not grieve for those bodies from which life has departed and for those from whome the principle of life has not departed. They do not grieve for bodies or souls. Hence, in you this contradiction is visible - your grief at the thought 'I shall slay them?' and at the same time your talk about righteousness and unrighteousness, as if it were the result of knowledge of the self as distinct from the body. Therefore you do not know the nature of the body nor of the self which is distinct from the body and is eternal. Nor do you know of duties like war etc., which (as duty) constitute the means for the attainment of the self, nor of the fact that this war (which forms a duty in the present context), if fought without any selfish desire for results, is a means for the attainment of the knowledge of the true nature of the self. The implied meaning is this: This self, verily, is not dependent on the body for Its existence, nor is It subjected to destruction on the death of the body, as there is no birth or death for It. Therefore there is no cause for grief. But the body is insentient by nature, is subject to change, and its birth and death are natural; thus it (body) too is not to be grieved for. First listen about the nature of the self.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
2.11 Asocyan etc. You lament for the body that cannot be lamented over, because it is of incessantly perishing nature; and also for the Soul that does not reire to be lamented. No one, either of departed life, i.e., the dead, or of non-departed life, i.e., the living, is to be mourned for. As for instance, the Soul is ever non-perishing. What sort of lamentability can be for It, as It is plessantly travelling in different bodies ? Nor is it right to say that Its lamentability is due only to Its travel in another body. For, in that case, It should be lamented for, even when the stage of youth etc., is attained. In this manner, the two ideas [the Lord] relates :
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
2.11 The Blessed Lord said Thou hast grieved for those that should not be grieved for, yet thou speakest words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead.
Commentary

2.11 अशोच्यान् those who should not be grieved for? अन्वशोचः hast grieved? त्वम् thou? प्रज्ञावादान् words of wisdom? च and? भाषसे speakest? गतासून् the dead? अगतासून् the living? च and? न अनुशोचन्ति grieve not? पण्डिताः the wise.Commentary -- The philosophy of the Gita begins from this verse.Bhishma and Drona deserve no grief because they are eternal in their real nature and they are virtuous men who possess very good conduct. Though you speak words of wisdom? you are unwise because you grieve for those who are really eternal and who deserve no grief. They who are endowed with the knowledge of the Self are wise men. They will not grieve for the living or for the dead because they know well that the Self is immortal and that It is unborn. They also know that there is no such a thing as death? that it is a separation of the astral body from the physical? that death is nothing more than a disintegration of matter and that the five elements of which the body is composed return to their source. Arjuna had forgotten the eternal nature of the Soul and the changing nature of the body. Because of his ignorance? he began to act as if the temporary relations with kinsmen? teachers? etc.? were permanent. He forgot that his relations with this world in his present life were the results of past actions. These? when exhausted? end all relationship and new ones ones crop up when one takes on another body.The result of past actions is known as karm and that portion of the karma which gave rise to the present incarnation is known as prarabdha karma.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
2.11 The Blessed Lord said You grieve for whose who are not to be grieved for; and you speak words of wisdom! The learned do not grieve for the departed and those who have not departed.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
2.11 Lord Shri Krishna said: Why grieve for those for whom no grief is due, and yet profess wisdom? The wise grieve neither for the dead nor the living.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related verses
BG 2.12 BG 13.28 BG 18.54 SB 1.13.44 SB 7.2.41 SB 11.22.55 CC Ādi 5.41 CC Madhya 20.108 CC Madhya 22.95 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.20BRS 1.2.292
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Lamenting for what is not worthy of lament is the chief symptom of forgetting one's spiritual identity.
Practical Applications
  • Before grieving any loss, ask: am I lamenting the body, the soul, or my attachment to a form?
  • Notice how often grief is for things we never truly possessed.
  • Replace one habitual lament with a chant of Krishna's name today.
Reflection Questions
  • What am I lamenting that the wise would not lament?
  • How might my grief change shape if I saw the soul more clearly?
Analogy

A man weeps over a costume his friend has just removed, while the friend stands beside him, alive and well. Arjuna mourns the bodies of those whose souls are eternal — he speaks learned words but grieves like an unlearned man. The wise (paṇḍitāḥ) see who is wearing the costume; they do not lament for the cloth.

Stories
Yudhiṣṭhira and the yakṣa

At the lake, the yakṣa asked Yudhiṣṭhira: 'What is the greatest wonder?' Yudhiṣṭhira answered: 'Day after day countless beings die, yet the survivors wish to live forever — this is the greatest wonder.'

The wonder is precisely the inversion of paṇḍita-vision: those who should know death is universal still lament each particular death as if it were anomalous. The verse here cuts the same way — Arjuna speaks learned words while behaving as if death were not natural to the body.

King Citraketu and his dead son

When Citraketu's only son died, the king's grief was endless. Nārada and Aṅgirā came and summoned the son's soul back briefly. The soul addressed the weeping king: 'Through countless lives I have had countless parents. Which of them should I now claim as mine?'

The soul departed; the king's grief was cured not by consolation but by knowledge. The Sixth Canto's episode is the Bhāgavatam's commentary on this verse — paṇḍitāḥ are those who have already heard what Citraketu's son told his father.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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