Sanskrit
अथ चैनं नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम् । तथापि त्वं महाबाहो नैनं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥
atha cainaṃ nityajātaṃ nityaṃ vā manyase mṛtam tathāpi tvaṃ mahābāho nainaṃ śocitum arhasi
Translation
Or if thou thinkest of him as being constantly born and constantly dying, even then, O mighty-armed, thou shouldst not grieve.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
A notable pivot: having spent several verses asserting the self’s immortality as fact, Krishna now offers a fallback argument that doesn’t depend on Arjuna accepting any of it. Even if you think of the self as something born and dying over and over — the ordinary, non-technical view most people hold — that alone is still no reason to grieve. It’s a second, independent line of argument stacked underneath the first, not a retraction of it. Arguing in the alternative like this — “and even if you reject my premise…” — is a recognisable debating move, and it signals that Krishna cares more about getting Arjuna to act than about winning him to a particular metaphysics.
Study deeper
Word by word
- atha cainaṃअथ चैनं
- but if [you think] this (atha + ca + enam)
- nityajātaṃनित्यजातं
- constantly born (nitya-jātam)
- nityaṃ vā manyase mṛtamनित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतं
- or constantly dying, you think (nityam + vā + manyase + mṛtam)
- tathāpiतथापि
- even so (tathā + api)
- tvaṃत्वं
- you
- mahābāhoमहाबाहो
- O mighty-armed
- nainaṃ śocitum arhasiनैनं शोचितुं अर्हसि
- you ought not to grieve for this (na + enam + śocitum + arhasi)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Notice what Krishna does here: he offers an argument that doesn’t need Arjuna to agree with the argument he just made. Most teachers double down when a claim isn’t landing; Krishna instead builds a second bridge under the first one, reaching the same conclusion from ground Arjuna might actually already stand on — the conclusion matters more to him than which route gets Arjuna there.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When someone isn't persuaded by your reasoning, try building a second argument that reaches the same conclusion from ground they already accept — persuasion doesn't require agreement on premises, only agreement on where the argument needs to end up.
Professional
- When pitching a decision to stakeholders who don't share your technical assumptions, prepare a second line of reasoning that reaches the same recommendation from their own starting beliefs — you don't need them to accept your model of the system to accept your conclusion.
Family & Social
- If someone close to you doesn't buy your reasoning for a boundary or a choice, find a second way to explain it that starts from what they already believe, rather than repeating the same argument louder.
Ask yourself
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