FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 2.18

అన్తవన్త ఇమే దేహా నిత్యస్యోక్తాః శరీరిణః । అనాశినోఽప్రమేయస్య తస్మాద్యుధ్యస్వ భారత ॥ ౧౮ ॥
antavanta ime dehā
[antavanta ime dehaa]
nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ
[nityasyoktaah shareerinah]
anāśino ’prameyasya
[anaashino ’prameyasya]
tasmād yudhyasva bhārata
[tasmaad yudhyasva bhaarata]
Word-for-word
anta - vantaḥ — perishable ime — all these dehāḥ — material bodies nityasya — eternal in existence uktāḥ — are said śarīriṇaḥ — of the embodied soul anāśinaḥ — never to be destroyed aprameyasya — immeasurable tasmāt — therefore yudhyasva — fight bhārata — O descendant of Bharata .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
antavanta ime dehā
anta - vantaḥ
perishable
ime
all these
dehāḥ
material bodies
nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ
nityasya
eternal in existence
uktāḥ
are said
śarīriṇaḥ
of the embodied soul
anāśino ’prameyasya
anāśinaḥ
never to be destroyed
aprameyasya
immeasurable
tasmād yudhyasva bhārata
tasmāt
therefore
yudhyasva
fight
bhārata
O descendant of Bharata .
Important Words
  • anta - vantaḥ — having an end
    Compound — *possessed of an end*. The bodies are defined by their limit. Their finitude is their defining property, not an accident.
  • śarīriṇaḥ — of the embodied
    Genitive of śarīrin — one who has a body. Like dehin in 2.13, the word grammatically separates the possessor from the possessed. The soul *has* a body; it is not one.
  • anāśinaḥ — of the indestructible
    Genitive of anāśin. The soul cannot be subjected to nāśa — destruction. The bodies are limited; the wearer cannot be ended even in principle.
  • aprameyasya — of the immeasurable
    A + pra-meya — not measurable. The soul cannot be quantified, located, or fixed in any of the categories by which material things are measured. It eludes pramāṇa as a fish escapes a net designed for birds.
  • yudhyasva — fight
    The conclusion-imperative. The whole argument from 2.11 has been building toward this single command. The metaphysics is given so that the duty can be done — Kṛṣṇa is not philosophizing for its own sake.
The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.
Purport

The material body is perishable by nature. It may perish immediately, or it may do so after a hundred years. It is a question of time only. There is no chance of maintaining it indefinitely. But the spirit soul is so minute that it cannot even be seen by an enemy, to say nothing of being killed. As mentioned in the previous verse, it is so small that no one can have any idea how to measure its dimension. So from both viewpoints there is no cause of lamentation, because the living entity as he is cannot be killed nor can the material body be saved for any length of time or permanently protected. The minute particle of the whole spirit acquires this material body according to his work, and therefore observance of religious principles should be utilized. In the Vedānta-sūtras the living entity is qualified as light because he is part and parcel of the supreme light. As sunlight maintains the entire universe, so the light of the soul maintains this material body. As soon as the spirit soul is out of this material body, the body begins to decompose; therefore it is the spirit soul which maintains this body. The body itself is unimportant. Arjuna was advised to fight and not sacrifice the cause of religion for material, bodily considerations.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
18. The bodies belonging to the eternal, indestructible, small soul are said to be temporary. Therefore, fight, O Bhārata.
Commentary

This verse also clarifies verse 16. The possessor of the body (sarīriṇaḥ), the jīva, is beyond measurement, or difficult to understand, because it is very, very small (aprameyasya). Therefore you should fight. This means that you should not give up your dharma as prescribed in scripture.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
18. The bodies belonging to the eternal soul, which is indestructible and very small, are said to be temporary. Therefore, fight, O Bhārata.
Commentary

The bodies of the jīva are said to have a destructible nature (antavantaḥ), whereas the possessor of the body, the jīva (śarīriṇaḥ), is eternal. Because of the very fine nature of the jīva, and because it is the knower and consciousness, the jīva cannot be known (aprameyasasya) (by material methods). [Note: The ātmā is a knower, and pure consciousness, rather than an object of knowledge as we know it in this world. The ātmā is self revealing, it can know itself, but does not know the ātmā as a separate object apart from the self.] Because the jīva and his body have such natures (eternal and destructible), neither the jīva nor his body is worthy of lamentation. The body of the jīva is created by the Lord for the jīva’s enjoyment and his liberation, which can both be attained through execution of dharma. Therefore, as both earthly enjoyment and liberation are attained by dharma, O Arjuna, fight.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Arjuna had put foward logic and compassion. "We shouldn't fight because I am going to be killing these dear and beloved people." But in the next verse Krsna counteracts his argument: "You cannot kill them because they are eternal!" And not only that, one cannot kill the spirit soul, Krsna explains in the next text:

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

COMMON THEME: The soul cannot be killed and the body cannot be saved from death. Therefore Arjuna

should not refrain from the necessity of war

This implies that the Kauravas cannot escape death even if Arjuna does not kill
Focus of Learning

(a) Essence of purport – This verse more clearly explains “the nature of the soul”

(b) Symptom of the soul – “Individual consciousness”

This consciousness is spread all over the body e.g. one can experience the pain and pleasures of the body
Each and everybody is the embodiment of an individual soul, one cannot perceive the pains and pleasures of another’s body

(c) Size of the soul – Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad

It is one ten-thousandth (1/10,000th) of the tip of the hair
This is a spiritual atom smaller than the material atom
This spark is the basic principle of the material body

(d) Ref. Mundaka Upanisad 3.1.9 – Explains the measurement of the atomic spirit soul

Size – The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence
Life airs – Atomic soul is floating in five kinds of airs (prana, apana, vyana, samana, udana)
Position – The soul is situated within the heart and spreads its influence all over the body
Opinion of scientists – Because the measurement of the atomic soul is beyond their power of appreciation, they foolishly assert that there is no soul
Purification of soul – When the soul is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material airs, it’s spiritual influence is exhibited

(e) Influence of soul all over the body

Material body minus consciousness equals a dead body
Two analogies to explain this:
Active principle of medicine spreads all over the body, similarly the current of the spirit soul is felt all over the body as consciousness
Like the sun pervades the entire universe and maintains it, similarly the light of soul maintains the material body
Conclusion – Consciousness is not due to any amount of material combination and cannot be revived by any material administration

(f) ‘Vedic science’ vs ‘Modern science’ on the soul – The heart is the seat of all energies of the body

Vedic science
Individual soul is present in the heart along with the Supersoul, and therefore all energies of the body are emanating from the heart
Modern science
It accepts the important of red corpuscles and the heart as the seat of all energies
But it cannot ascertain that the source of energy is the soul

(g) Never mistake atomic soul to be all-pervading Vishnu-tattva

Constitution of atomic soul is admitted in all Vedic literatures and is also felt in the practical experience of any sane man
Only an insane man can think of the atomic soul as all-pervading Vishnu-tattva
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
2.18 Ime, these; antavantah, destructible; dehah, bodies as the idea of reality which continues with regard to water in a mirage, etc. gets eliminated when examined with the means of knowledge, and that is its end, so are these bodies and they have an end like bodies etc. in dream and magic ; uktah, are said, by discriminating people; to belong nityasya, to the everlasting; anasinah, the indestructible; aprameyasya, the indeterminable; sarirnah, embodied One, the Self. This is the meaning. The two words 'everlasting' and 'indestructible' are not repetitive, because in common usage everlastingness and destructibility are of two kinds. As for instance, a body which is reduced to ashes and has disappeared is said to have been destoryed. (And) even while existing, when it becomes transfigured by being afflicted with diseases etc. it is said to be 'destroyed'. [Here the A.A. adds 'tatha dhana-nase-apyevam, similar is the case even with regard to loss of wealth.'-Tr.] That being so, by the two words 'everlasting' and 'indestructible' it is meant that It is not subject to both kinds of distruction. Otherwise, the everlastingness of the Self would be like that of the earth etc. Therefore, in order that this contingency may not arise, it is said, 'Of the everlasting, indestructible'. Aprameyasya, of the indeterminable, means 'of that which cannot be determined by such means of knowledge as direct perception etc.' Objection: Is it not that the Self is determined by the scriptures, and before that through direct perception etc.? Vedantin: No, because the Self is self-evident. For, (only) when the Self stands predetermined as the knower, there is a search for a means of knolwedge by the knower. Indeed, it is not that without first determining oneself as, 'I am such', one takes up the task of determining an object of knowledge. For what is called the 'self' does not remain unknown to anyone. But the scripture is the final authority [when the Vedic text establishes Brahman as the innermost Self, all the distinctions such as knower, known and the means of knowledge become sublated. Thus it is reasonable that the Vedic text should be the final authority. Besides, its authority is derived from its being faultless in as much as it has not originated from any human being.]: By way of merely negating superimposition of alities that do not belong to the Self, it attains authoritativeness with regard to the Self, but not by virtue of making some unknown thing known. There is an Upanisadic text in support of this: '৷৷.the Brahman that is immediate and direct, the Self that is within all' (Br. 3.4.1). Since the Self is thus eternal and unchanging, tasmat, therefore; yudhyasva, you join the battle, i.e. do not desist from the war. Here there is no injunction to take up war as a duty, because be (Arjuna), though he was determined for war, remains silent as a result of being overpowered by sorrow and delusion. Therefore, all that is being done by the Lord is the removal of the obstruction to his duty. 'Therefore, join the battle' is only an approval, not an injunction. The scripture Gita is intended for eradicating sorrow, delusion, etc. which are the cases of the cycle of births and deaths; it is not intended to enjoin action. As evidences of this idea the Lord cites two Vedic verses: [Ka. 1.2.19-20. There are slight verbal differences.-Tr.]
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
2.18 The root 'dih' means 'to grow.' Hence these bodies (Dehas) are characterised by complexity. They have an end - their nature is perishablity. For, jugs and such other things which are characterised by complexity are seen to have an end. The bodies of the embodied self, which are made of conglomerated elements, serve the purpose of experiencing the effects of Karmas, as stated in Brh. U. IV. 4.5, 'Auspicious embodiments are got through good actions.' Such bodies perish when Karmas are exhausted. Further the self is imperishable. Why? Because it is not measurable. Neither can It be conceived as the object of knowledge, but only as the subject (knower). It will be taught later on: 'He who knows It is called the knower of the Field by those who know this (13.1). Besides, the self is not seen to be made up of many (elements). Because in the perception 'I am the knower' throughout the body, only something other than the body is understood as possessing an invariable form as the knower. Further, this knower cannot be dismembered and seen in different places as is the case with the body. Therefore the self is eternal, for (1) It is not a complex being of a single form; (2) It is the knowing subject; and (3) It pervades all. On the contrary, the body is perishable, because (1) it is complex; (2) it serves the purpose of experiencing the fruits of Karma by the embodied self; (3) it has a plurality of parts and (4) it can be pervaded. Therefore, as the body is by nature perishable and the self by nature is eternal, both are not objects fit for grief. Hence, bearing with courage the inevitable strike of weapons, sharp or hard, liable to be received by you and others, begin the action called war without being attached to the fruits but for the sake of attaining immortality.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
2.18 Antavantah etc. The bodies, at the time of their attaining the unobservable stage, meet their apparent destruction. This would be impossible if they do not suffer the peculiar destruction, that it to say they undergo changes every moment. For, it has been said- 'By observing the dilapidated condition of beings at their last moment, the loss of newness is very moment is inferred' The same has been said by the Sage (Vyasa) also as- 'In every being, in every moment, there is mutual difference between its tiny parts that have different purposes. But on account of its subtlity, it is not cleary comprehended (MB, Santi., Moksa. Ch. 308, verse 121). [In theabove passage] having different purposes amounts to say 'because they perform different acts having their own respective special purposes.; Now, the bodies have thier end and are ever changing. On the other hand, the Self is destructionless, because It is incomprehensible. Changing nature belongs only to the insentient thing which is comprehensible, but not to what is non-insentient and is exclusively consciousness in nature. Because, it is not possible [for one] to gain an altogether different nature. Thus, the bodies meet permanently their end and hence they cannot be lamented for; the Self ever remains without destruction (or without changing) and hence need not be lamented for. Thus a single krtya-suffix has been employed on both the senses simultaneously by the sage in the expression asocyan.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
2.18 These bodies of the embodied Self, Which is eternal, indestructible and immeasurable, are said to have an end. Therefore fight, O Arjuna.
Commentary

2.18 अन्तवन्तः having an end? इमे these? देहाः bodies? नित्यस्य of the everlasting? उक्ताः are said? शरीरिणः of the embodied? अनाशिनः of the indestructible? अप्रमेयस्य of the immesaurable? तस्मात् therefore? युध्यस्व fight? भारत O Bharata.Commentary -- Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna the nature of the allpervading? immortal Self in a variety of ways and thus induces him to fight by removing his delusion? grief and despondency which are born of ignorance.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
2.18 These destructible bodies are said to belong to the everlasting, indestructible, indeterminable, embodied One. Therefore, O descendant of Bharata, join the battle.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
2.18 The material bodies which this Eternal, Indestructible, Immeasurable Spirit inhabits are all finite. Therefore fight, O Valiant Man!
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Arjava (Simplicity / Straightforwardness)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)
Related verses
BG 2.17 BG 2.30 BG 18.59 SB 1.13.45 SB 7.2.21 SB 10.1.39 CC Madhya 20.108 CC Madhya 22.31 CC Antya 4.181 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.18BRS 1.2.187
Concepts
Dharma
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Bodies have ends; the soul does not — fight, then, knowing what is and is not at stake.
Practical Applications
  • Approach difficult duties with the perspective that the body is already perishing.
  • Distinguish what really stands to be lost from what is merely uncomfortable.
  • Use this verse as a meditation before any action that requires courage.
Reflection Questions
  • What am I treating as ultimate that is actually only temporary?
  • Which duty would I take up if I really believed the body was already ending?
Analogy

Garments wear out and are discarded; the wearer is unchanged. The bodies of the warriors before Arjuna are antavanta — they have a limit, an end — but their wearer is anāśin and aprameya. Therefore, fight: you cannot kill what cannot be killed; you can only retire the cloth.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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