FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 2.23

నైనం ఛిన్దన్తి శస్త్రాణి నైనం దహతి పావకః । న చైనం క్ల‍ేదయన్త్యాపో న శోషయతి మారుతః ॥ ౨౩ ॥
nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi
[nainam chindanti shastraani]
nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
[nainam dahati paavakah]
na cainaṁ kledayanty āpo
[na chainam kledayanty aapo]
na śoṣayati mārutaḥ
[na shoshayati maarutah]
Word-for-word
na — never enam — this soul chindanti — can cut to pieces śastrāṇi — weapons na — never enam — this soul dahati — burns pāvakaḥ — fire na — never ca — also enam — this soul kledayanti — moistens āpaḥ — water na — never śoṣayati — dries mārutaḥ — wind .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi
na
never
enam
this soul
chindanti
can cut to pieces
śastrāṇi
weapons
nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na
never
enam
this soul
dahati
burns
pāvakaḥ
fire
na cainaṁ kledayanty āpo
na
never
ca
also
enam
this soul
kledayanti
moistens
āpaḥ
water
na śoṣayati mārutaḥ
na
never
śoṣayati
dries
mārutaḥ
wind .
Important Words
  • chindanti — they cut
    Plural of √chid — to cut, sever. The weapon's defining act has no object. The senses' first power — to divide — fails at the threshold of the soul.
  • śastrāṇi — weapons
    All weapons, plural. Not 'no weapon' but 'no weapons whatsoever' — the universal negation is meant. Bhīṣma will be felled by Arjuna's arrows; Bhīṣma the soul will not.
  • pāvakaḥ — fire
    Pāvaka — *the purifier*, an epithet of fire. Even fire, the great reducer, cannot reduce the soul. The soul is already pure; nothing can purify it further or burn it down.
  • āpaḥ — waters
    Plural, as is Vedic. Water dissolves; the soul is akledya — un-wettable. The fourfold image (weapon, fire, water, wind) exhausts the elemental categories of injury.
  • mārutaḥ — wind
    The fourth element-agent. Wind dries up rivers, fields, lives. The soul cannot be dried. The verse completes the elemental circle and finds no opening.
The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.
Purport

All kinds of weapons – swords, flame weapons, rain weapons, tornado weapons, etc. – are unable to kill the spirit soul. It appears that there were many kinds of weapons made of earth, water, air, ether, etc., in addition to the modern weapons of fire. Even the nuclear weapons of the modern age are classified as fire weapons, but formerly there were other weapons made of all different types of material elements. Fire weapons were counteracted by water weapons, which are now unknown to modern science. Nor do modern scientists have knowledge of tornado weapons. Nonetheless, the soul can never be cut into pieces, nor annihilated by any number of weapons, regardless of scientific devices. The Māyāvādī cannot explain how the individual soul came into existence simply by ignorance and consequently became covered by the illusory energy. Nor was it ever possible to cut the individual souls from the original Supreme Soul; rather, the individual souls are eternally separated parts of the Supreme Soul. Because they are atomic individual souls eternally ( sanātana ), they are prone to be covered by the illusory energy, and thus they become separated from the association of the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of a fire, although one in quality with the fire, are prone to be extinguished when out of the fire. In the Varāha Purāṇa, the living entities are described as separated parts and parcels of the Supreme. They are eternally so, according to the Bhagavad-gītā also. So, even after being liberated from illusion, the living entity remains a separate identity, as is evident from the teachings of the Lord to Arjuna. Arjuna became liberated by the knowledge received from Kṛṣṇa, but he never became one with Kṛṣṇa.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
23. Weapons do not cut the soul. Fire does not burn it. Water does not wet it. Wind does not dry it.
Commentary

Also, it is not possible to injure the soul at all by the weapons used by you in the battle. That is explained in this verse. Weapons such as swords cannot cut it. The fire weapon cannot burn it. The rain weapon cannot wet it, nor can the wind weapon dry it out.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
23. Weapons do not cut the soul. The fire weapon does not burn it. The water weapon does not wet it. The wind weapon does not dry it.
Commentary

“But just as the house dweller is destroyed when his house is burned, when the body is destroyed by the blow of weapons, the soul should also be destroyed.” Swords (śastrāṇi) cannot cut it. The fire weapon (pāvakaḥ) cannot burn it. The rain weapon (āpaḥ) cannot wet it. The wind weapon (mārutaḥ) cannot dry it. Accordingly, the ātmā is not disturbed at all by being exposed to all these types of weapons (either those used for striking or those that are thrown).

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

COMMON THEME: The individual soul is eternally the atomic particle of the spirit whole

The soul is unbreakable and insoluble (2.24)
Can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor moistened by water (2.23)
Soul can neither be burned nor dried (2.24)
Nor burned by fire, nor withered by the wind (2.23)
Soul is eternally the same – He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable (2.24)
Focus of Learning

(a) Different kinds of weapons none of which can affect the soul

Made of earth, water, fire, air, ether etc
Example of fire weapons – Nuclear weapons

(b) Failure of Mayavadi’s to explain the following points – They cannot explain:

How the individual soul came into existence simply by ignorance
How the individual soul got separated from the original Supreme Soul

(c) Correct understanding of the position of the soul:

The individual soul is eternally a separated part of the Supreme Soul
Being atomic individual souls eternally, they are prone to be influenced by illusory energy
Thus they become separated from the Supreme Lord
Analogy: Just like sparks of a fire, although one in quality of the fire are prone to be extinguished when out of the fire
Ref. Varaha Purana – Living entities are eternally separated parts and parcels

(d) Analogy of two birds explained

One of the birds (atomic soul) – is captivated and eating the fruits of the tree
Other bird (Krishna) – simply witnesses the activities of his friend (atomic soul)
Although they are friends one is still the master (Krishna as Supersoul) and the other is servant (atomic soul)
How to become free from all lamentations – By voluntary surrender unto the master bird or unto Krishna, the Supreme spiritual master
If somehow one turns his face to Krishna and knows His glories, at once he becomes free from all anxieties

(e) How does this verse help Arjuna to overcome lamentation and material compassion

Arjuna should be happy to kill the bodies of grandfather and teacher in a righteous fight so that they can be cleansed of all reactions and get fresh bodies (fresh garments)
One who lays down his life on the sacrificial alter or in the proper battlefield, is at once cleansed of bodily reactions and promoted to a higher status
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
2.23 Why does It verily remain unchanged? This is being answered in, 'Weapons do not cut It,' etc. Sastrani, weapons; na, do not; chindanti, cut; enam, It, the embodied one under discussion. It being partless, weapons like sword etc. do not cut off Its limbs. So also, even pavakah, fire; na dahati enam, does not burn, does not reduce It to ashes. Ca, and similarly; apah, water; na enam kledayanti, does not moisten It. For water has the power of disintegrating a substance that has parts, by the process of moistening it. That is not possible in the case of the partless Self. Similarly, air destroys an oil substance by drying up the oil. Even marutah, air; na sosayati, does not dry; (enam, It,) one's own Self. [Ast. reads 'enam tu atmanam, but this Self', in place of enam svatmanam.-Tr.]
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
2.23 - 2.24 Weapons, fire, water and air are incapable of cleaving, burning, wetting and drying the self; for, the nature of the self is to pervade all elements; It is present everywhere; for, It is subtler than all the elements; It is not capable of being pervaded by them; and cleaving, burning, wetting and drying are actions which can take place only by pervading a substance. Therefore the self is eternal. It is stable, immovable and primeval. The meaning is that It is unchanging, unshakable and ancient.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
2.23 See Comment under 2.25
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
2.23 Weapons cut It not, fire burns It not, water wets It not, wind dries It not.
Commentary

2.23 न not? एनम् this (Self)? छिन्दन्ति cut? शस्त्राणि weapons? न not? एनम् this? दहति burns? पावकः fire? न not?,च and? एनम् this? क्लेदयन्ति wet? आपः waters? न not? शोषयति dries? मारुतः wind.Commentary The Self is indivisible. It has no parts. It is extremely subtle. It is infinite. Therefore? sword cannot cut It fire cannot burn It water cannot wet It wind cannot dry It.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
2.23 Weapons do not cut It, fire does not burn It, water does not moisten It, and air does not dry It.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
2.23 Weapons cleave It not, fire burns It not, water drenches It not, and wind dries It not.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 2.24 BG 13.34 BG 15.10 SB 3.26.50 SB 6.16.9 SB 11.13.24 CC Ādi 2.96 CC Madhya 20.108 CC Madhya 24.71 Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.18Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Sciences essays referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Weapons cannot cleave the soul, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, wind cannot dry it — nothing of this world touches our true self.
Practical Applications
  • When you feel attacked, remind yourself: 'Nothing of this world can touch my true self.'
  • Use this verse in meditation when overwhelmed by external circumstances.
  • Let the elemental imagery of the verse counter the elemental violence of the world.
Reflection Questions
  • Which 'weapon, fire, water, or wind' am I most afraid of right now?
  • How would I act if I really knew none of it could touch the real me?
Analogy

Try to cut light with a sword, burn wind with fire, dampen space with water, dry the sky with breeze — the elements have no purchase on what is not their kind. The soul belongs to no element, and so none of the four weapons of nature can touch it.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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