Sanskrit
अविनाशि तु तद्विद्धि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् । विनाशमव्ययस्यास्य न कश्चित्कर्तुमर्हति ॥
avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṃ tatam vināśam avyayasyāsya na kaścit kartum arhati
Translation
Know That to be indestructible by whom all this is pervaded. Nor can any work the destruction of that imperishable One.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Having distinguished real from unreal, Krishna names what the “real” actually is here: whatever it is that pervades everything, and it cannot be destroyed by anything. This is the positive claim underneath verse 2.23’s later list of what can’t touch the self (weapons, fire, water, wind) — indestructibility as a definition, not just a description. “Yena sarvam idaṃ tatam” — that by which all this is stretched through — makes the self pervasive rather than local, closer to a ground than a thing. It is the seed of the much larger claim in chapters 7–13 that this same principle underlies the whole world, not just the individual.
Study deeper
Word by word
- avināśiअविनाशि
- indestructible
- tuतु
- but
- tad viddhiतद् विद्धि
- know that (tat + viddhi)
- yena sarvam idaṃ tatamयेन सर्वं इदं ततं
- by which all this is pervaded (yena + sarvam + idam + tatam)
- vināśamविनाशं
- destruction
- avyayasyāsyaअव्ययस्यास्य
- of this imperishable (avyayasya + asya)
- na kaścit kartum arhatiन कश्चित् कर्तुं अर्हति
- no one is able to bring about (na + kaścit + kartum + arhati)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Krishna calls it only “That” here — tad — pervading everything, indestructible, but withholds the name “self” or “atman” for several verses yet. The description arrives before the label, which is a deliberate sequencing: understand what the thing does and what can’t touch it before you get attached to a name for it, so the name doesn’t do more work than the description earned.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Before you settle on a label for something you're trying to understand about yourself — a diagnosis, an identity, a role — sit with the plain description of what's actually happening first. A name adopted too early can do more work than the evidence for it has earned.
Professional
- Before naming a problem (a root cause, a category of failure), make sure the description of what's actually happening is solid — a label applied too early tends to foreclose investigation the description alone would have kept open.
Family & Social
- Before you put a label on a pattern you're noticing in someone close to you, describe the actual behavior to yourself first — naming it too early can make you see the label instead of the person.
Ask yourself
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