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Bhagavad-gītā 2.20

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
[na jaayate mriyate vaa kadaachin]
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
[naayam bhootvaa bhavitaa vaa na bhooyah]
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
[ajo nityah shaashvato ’yam puraano]
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
[na hanyate hanyamaane shareere]
Word-for-word
na — never jāyate — takes birth mriyate — dies vā — either kadācit — at any time (past, present or future) na — never ayam — this bhūtvā — having come into being bhavitā — will come to be vā — or na — not bhūyaḥ — or is again coming to be ajaḥ — unborn nityaḥ — eternal śāśvataḥ — permanent ayam — this purāṇaḥ — the oldest na — never hanyate — is killed hanyamāne — being killed śarīre — the body .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
na
never
jāyate
takes birth
mriyate
dies
vā
either
kadācit
at any time (past, present or future)
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
na
never
ayam
this
bhūtvā
having come into being
bhavitā
will come to be
vā
or
na
not
bhūyaḥ
or is again coming to be
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
ajaḥ
unborn
nityaḥ
eternal
śāśvataḥ
permanent
ayam
this
purāṇaḥ
the oldest
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
na
never
hanyate
is killed
hanyamāne
being killed
śarīre
the body .
Important Words
  • jāyate — is born
    Present of √jan. The chain of attributes begins by denying birth — birth is the first event that anything material undergoes, and the soul lacks even this beginning.
  • ajaḥ — unborn
    A + ja — without birth. A central Upaniṣadic epithet of the ātmā and of Bhagavān. The Gauḍīya theology holds: the jīva is co-eternal with Kṛṣṇa, never created in time.
  • nityaḥ — eternal
    From √ni — settled, fixed, ever. Not 'long-lasting'; *eternal* in the strict philosophical sense. The Gītā's vocabulary for the soul piles privatives on a base of nityaḥ.
  • śāśvataḥ — perennial
    From śaśvat — always, forever-renewing. While nityaḥ names static eternity, śāśvataḥ adds the flavor of ever-fresh continuity. The soul is not frozen — it is alive and eternal at once.
  • purāṇaḥ — primeval
    Ancient — but in a peculiar sense. Prabhupāda notes: 'purāṇa, although the oldest, is ever fresh.' The soul is older than time and yet always new. The paradox is the soul's own.
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.
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)
The most lyrical statement of ātman's eternity. Four adjectives — aja, nitya, śāśvata, purāṇa — circle the same truth from different angles: unborn, unceasing, everlasting, ancient. The locative absolute closes the verse: even when the body falls, the self does not fall.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
This verse is again a near-quotation of Kaṭha Up. 1.2.18. Each adjective negates a different temporal limitation: aja denies origin, nitya denies end, śāśvata denies decrease, purāṇa (lit. 'ancient' yet ever-fresh) denies decay. The locative absolute hanyamāne śarīre is the syntactical hinge of the chapter's argument.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
अयम् कदाचित् न जायते, न म्रियते वा । अयम् भूत्वा भूयः भविता वा न । अयम् अजः नित्यः शाश्वतः पुराणः; शरीरे हन्यमाने (अपि) न हन्यते ।
ayam kadācit na jāyate, na mriyate vā | ayam bhūtvā bhūyaḥ bhavitā vā na | ayam ajaḥ nityaḥ śāśvataḥ purāṇaḥ; śarīre hanyamāne (api) na hanyate |
He is never born, nor does He die; nor, having come into being, does He cease to be again. Unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient — he is not slain when the body is slain.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचित् न अयम् भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः । अजः नित्यः शाश्वतः अयम् पुराणः न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācit na ayam bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ | ajaḥ nityaḥ śāśvataḥ ayam purāṇaḥ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
न जायते na jāyate √जन् pass. (passive) pres. (present) 3sg., with न is not born
म्रियते mriyate √मृ pres. (present) 3sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) dies
वा vā ind. (indeclinable), 'or' or
कदाचित् kadācit ind. (indeclinable), 'ever' ever
अयम् ayam इदम् (dem. (demonstrative)) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. this (one)
भूत्वा bhūtvā √भू abs. (absolutive), 'having become' having come into being
भविता bhavitā √भू periphrastic fut. (future) 3sg., 'will be' will be
भूयः bhūyaḥ ind. (indeclinable), 'again' again
अजः ajaḥ अ + ज (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., 'unborn' unborn
नित्यः nityaḥ नित्य (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. eternal
शाश्वतः śāśvataḥ शाश्वत (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., 'everlasting' everlasting
पुराणः purāṇaḥ पुराण (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m., 'ancient' ancient, primeval
न हन्यते na hanyate √हन् pass. (passive) pres. (present) 3sg., with न is not slain
हन्यमाने hanyamāne √हन् pass. (passive) pres. (present) part. loc.sg. (locative singular)n., 'being slain' when (the body) is being slain
शरीरे śarīre शरीर (n.) loc.sg. (locative singular) in/of the body
Purport

Qualitatively, the small atomic fragmental part of the Supreme Spirit is one with the Supreme. He undergoes no changes like the body. Sometimes the soul is called the steady, or kūṭa-stha. The body is subject to six kinds of transformations. It takes its birth from the womb of the mother’s body, remains for some time, grows, produces some effects, gradually dwindles, and at last vanishes into oblivion. The soul, however, does not go through such changes. The soul is not born, but, because he takes on a material body, the body takes its birth. The soul does not take birth there, and the soul does not die. Anything which has birth also has death. And because the soul has no birth, he therefore has no past, present or future. He is eternal, ever-existing and primeval – that is, there is no trace in history of his coming into being. Under the impression of the body, we seek the history of birth, etc., of the soul. The soul does not at any time become old, as the body does. The so-called old man, therefore, feels himself to be in the same spirit as in his childhood or youth. The changes of the body do not affect the soul. The soul does not deteriorate like a tree, nor anything material. The soul has no by-product either. The by-products of the body, namely children, are also different individual souls; and, owing to the body, they appear as children of a particular man. The body develops because of the soul’s presence, but the soul has neither offshoots nor change. Therefore, the soul is free from the six changes of the body. In the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.18) we also find a similar passage, which reads: na jāyate mriyate vā vipaścin nāyaṁ kutaścin na babhūva kaścit ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre The meaning and purport of this verse is the same as in the Bhagavad-gītā, but here in this verse there is one special word, vipaścit, which means learned or with knowledge. The soul is full of knowledge, or full always with consciousness. Therefore, consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Even if one does not find the soul within the heart, where he is situated, one can still understand the presence of the soul simply by the presence of consciousness. Sometimes we do not find the sun in the sky owing to clouds, or for some other reason, but the light of the sun is always there, and we are convinced that it is therefore daytime. As soon as there is a little light in the sky early in the morning, we can understand that the sun is in the sky. Similarly, since there is some consciousness in all bodies – whether man or animal – we can understand the presence of the soul. This consciousness of the soul is, however, different from the consciousness of the Supreme because the supreme consciousness is all-knowledge – past, present and future. The consciousness of the individual soul is prone to be forgetful. When he is forgetful of his real nature, he obtains education and enlightenment from the superior lessons of Kṛṣṇa. But Kṛṣṇa is not like the forgetful soul. If so, Kṛṣṇa’s teachings of Bhagavad-gītā would be useless. There are two kinds of souls – namely the minute particle soul ( aṇu-ātmā ) and the Supersoul ( vibhu-ātmā ). This is also confirmed in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.20) in this way: aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān ātmāsya jantor nihito guhāyām tam akratuḥ paśyati vīta-śoko dhātuḥ prasādān mahimānam ātmanaḥ “Both the Supersoul [Paramātmā] and the atomic soul [ jīvātmā ] are situated on the same tree of the body within the same heart of the living being, and only one who has become free from all material desires as well as lamentations can, by the grace of the Supreme, understand the glories of the soul.” Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of the Supersoul also, as it will be disclosed in the following chapters, and Arjuna is the atomic soul, forgetful of his real nature; therefore he requires to be enlightened by Kṛṣṇa, or by His bona fide representative (the spiritual master).

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
20. The soul is never born, nor does it ever die. Neither was it born in the past, nor will it be born in the future. It has no creation in the past, present or future, and no destruction in past, present or future, and is therefore eternal. It is most ancient but not subject to ageing. It is not killed when the body is killed.
Commentary

The eternal nature of the jīva is here clearly proven. The first line negates the possibility of birth and death for the jīva at the present time. The second line negates birth and death in the past and the future. Therefore it is unborn (aja): in past, present and future. Because of no birth, it has no previous non-existence (prag-abhāva). It exists at all times (śāśvataḥ), meaning that at no time in past, present or future, will it be destroyed (dhvaṁsa). Therefore it is eternal (nityaḥ). “But because the soul exists for a long time, it can grow old.” “No, though it is old (purā), it is as if new (na for nava) [Note: This is the interpretation of the word “purāṇa” by Śrīdhara and Baladeva as well.], because of absence of the six states of transformations. [Note: These are birth, maintenance, growth, maturity, decay and death.]” “With the death of the body, will it not die along with the body?” “It does not die when the body dies. Because it is not joined permanently with the body, the soul is not subservient to it.”

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
20. The soul is never born, nor does it ever die. Neither was it born in the past, nor will it be born in the future. It has no growth, nor decay, nor transformation, being most ancient but not subject to ageing. Thus it is not killed when the body is killed.
Commentary

This verse confirms the eternal nature of the ātmā mentioned previously, by showing that it is devoid of the six changes mentioned by Yāska: jāyate asti vardhate viparaṇamate apakṣīyate vinaśyati: birth, existence, increase, transformation, decay and dying. (Nirukta 1.2) The word va here means “and.” With the words na jayate mriyate (the ātmā is not born nor does it die at any time), creation and destruction are both excluded. And just as in the past the jīva was never born, in the future it will never be born again. This indicates that the jīva will never take on another birth and a different existence (indicated by the word asti in Yaska’s statement). One should also not think that this ātmā will ever increase or become more (this is indicated by vardhate in Yāska’s verse).from its present state (na bhūyaḥ). The reason why it will not become greater is then stated, with the words ajo nitya. Things subject to both birth and death such as trees also grow after birth and then die. The jīva, having neither birth nor death (ajo nitya), also does not have growth (na bhūyaḥ). Śasvata means that the jīva does not decay; it exists at all times without decay (decay is represented by apakṣīyate in Yāska’s verse). The word purāṇa indicates that the soul is without change or transformation (viparaṇamate). Though the ātmā is purā, ancient, it is nava, new. It never has to take another new form. Thus the ātmā devoid of the six changes is called nitya. Since the ātmā has this nature, when the body is killed, the ātmā is not killed. Arjuna, you have uttered words such as “I will be the killer of my guru” out of ignorance, with a fear of being dishonored. But because of the above reasons, you should fearlessly fight this righteous war approved by scripture.

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

Clearly delineates the eternality of the soul

This verse is like quoting sastra to support the opinion of Krishna, because the Katha Upanisad also mentions a similar passage
For the soul there is neither birth nor death
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
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
2.20 Na kadacit, neverl; is ayam, this One; jayate, born i.e. the Self has no change in the form of being born to which matter is subject ; va, and ( va is used in the sense of and); na mriyate, It never dies. By this is denied the final change in the form of destruction. The word (na) kadacit), never, is connected with the denial of all kinds of changes thus never, is It born never does It die, and so on. Since ayam, this Self; bhutva, having come to exist, having experienced the process of origination; na, will not; bhuyah, again; abhavita, cease to be thereafter, therefore It does not die. For, in common parlance, that which ceases to exist after coming into being is said to die. From the use of the word va, nor, and na, it is understood that, unlike the body, this Self does not again come into existence after having been non-existent. Therefore It is not born. For, the words, 'It is born', are used with regard to something which comes into existence after having been non-existent. The Self is not like this. Therfore It is not born. Since this is so, therefore It is ajah, birthless; and since It does not die, therefore It is nityah, eternal. Although all changes become negated by the denial of the first and the last kinds of changes, still changes occuring in the middle [For the six kinds of changes see note under verse 2.10.-Tr.] should be denied with their own respective terms by which they are implied. Therefore the text says sasvatah, undecaying,. so that all the changes, viz youth etc., which have not been mentioned may become negated. The change in the form of decay is denied by the word sasvata, that which lasts for ever. In Its own nature It does not decay because It is free from parts. And again, since it is without alities, there is no degeneration owing to the decay of any ality. Change in the form of growth, which is opposed to decay, is also denied by the word puranah, ancient. A thing that grows by the addition of some parts is said to increase and is also said to be new. But this Self was fresh even in the past due to Its partlessness. Thus It is puranah, i.e. It does not grow. So also, na hanyate, It is puranah, i.e. It does not grow. So also, na hanyate, It is not killed, It does not get transformed; even when sarire, the body; hanyamane, is killed, transformed. The verb 'to kill' has to be understood here in the sense of transformation, so that a tautology [This verse has already mentioned 'death' in the first line. If the verb han, to kill, is also taken in the sense of killing, then a tautology is unavoidable.-Tr.] may be avoided. In this mantra the six kinds of transformations, the material changes seen in the world, are denied in the Self. The meaning of the sentence is that the Self is devoid of all kinds of changes. Since this is so, therefore 'both of them do not know' this is how the present mantra is connected to the earlier mantra.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
2.20 As the self is eternal for the reasons mentioned (above), and hence free from modifications, it is said that all the attributes of the insentient (body) like birth, death etc., never touch the self. In this connection, as the statement, 'It is never born, It never dies' is in the present tense, it should be understood that the birth and death which are experienced by all in all bodies, do not touch the self. The statement 'Having come into being once, It never ceases to be' means that this self, having emerged at the beginning of a Kalpa (one aeon of manifestation) will not cease to be at the end of the Kalpa (i.e., will emerge again at the beginning of the next Kalpa unless It is liberated). This is the meaning - that birth at the beginning of a Kalpa in bodies such as those of Brahman and others, and death at the end of a Kalpa as stated in the scriptures, do not touch the self. Hence, the selves in all bodies, are unborn, and therefore eternal. It is abiding, not connected, like matter, with invisible modifications taking place. It is primeval; the meaning is that It existed from time immemorial; It is even new i.e., It is capable of being experienced always as fresh. Therefore, when the body is slain the self is not slain.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
2.20 Na jayate etc. Having not been at one time, This etc. : this Self will come to be, having not been at any time non-existent, but only having been existent. Therefore This is not born, This does not die too. For, having been [at one time], This will never be non-existent [at another time]; but certainly This will be [always] existent.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
2.20 It is not born, nor does It ever die; after having been, It again ceases not to be; unborn, eternal, changeless and ancient, It is not killed when the body is killed.
Commentary

2.20 न not? जायते is born? म्रियते dies? वा or? कदाचित् at any time? न not? अयम् this (Self)? भूत्वा having been? भविता will be? वा or? न not? भूयः (any) more? अजः unborn? नित्यः eternal? शाश्वतः changeless? अयम् this? पुराणः ancient? न not? हन्यते is killed? हन्यमाने being killed? शरीरे in body.Commentary This Self (Atman) is destitute of the six types of transformation or BhavaVikaras such as birth? existence? growth? transformation? decline and death. As It is indivisible (Akhanda). It does not diminish in size. It neither grows nor does It decline. It is ever the same. Birth and death are for the physical body only. Birth and death cannot touch the immortal? allpervading Self.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
2.20 Never is this One born, and never does It die; nor is it that having come to exist, It will again cease to be. This One is birthless, eternal, undecaying, ancient; It is not killed when the body is killed.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
2.20 It was not born; It will never die, nor once having been, can It cease to be. Unborn, Eternal, Ever-enduring, yet Most Ancient, the Spirit dies not when the body is dead.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 2.12 BG 2.24 BG 15.7 SB 3.31.15 SB 7.7.19 SB 11.7.48 CC Madhya 20.108 CC Madhya 20.118 CC Madhya 24.71 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.18Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.21
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The soul is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, primeval — never dying when the body dies.
Practical Applications
  • Memorize this verse for class and for personal reassurance in moments of fear.
  • Use it as a meditation when grieving the death of someone dear.
  • Begin a morning practice of identifying as the unborn soul before getting out of bed.
Reflection Questions
  • Where is my behavior contradicting my belief in the soul's eternity?
  • Whom in my life is grieving in a way this verse could console?
Analogy

The sky has no birthday and no funeral. Storms gather and pass through it; suns rise and set within it; the sky does not begin or end. The soul is of this nature — birthless, deathless, ancient and ever-new, untouched by the slaying of the body that moves across it.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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