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Chapter 2 · Verse 26 · Sankhya Yoga

Bhagavad Gita 2.26

philosophical Self & Identity Attachment & Letting Go Karma & Action

Sanskrit

अथ चैनं नित्यजातं नित्यं वा मन्यसे मृतम्। तथापि त्वं महाबाहो नैवं शोचितुमर्हसि।।2.26।।

Transliteration

atha chainaṁ nitya-jātaṁ nityaṁ vā manyase mṛitam tathāpi tvaṁ mahā-bāho naivaṁ śhochitum arhasi

हिंदी अर्थ

यदि तुम आत्मा को हमेशा जन्मता हुआ या हमेशा मरता हुआ मानते हो, तब भी हे महाबाहो, तुम्हें शोक नहीं करना चाहिए। क्योंकि जो नित्य (सदा) है, उसका न तो जन्म होता है और न ही मृत्यु होती है।

Word by Word

atha if, however
cha and
enam this soul
nitya-jātam taking constant birth
nityam always
or
manyase you think
mṛitam dead
tathā api even then
tvam you
mahā-bāho mighty-armed one, Arjun
na not
evam like this
śhochitum grieve
arhasi befitting
Simplified Perspective

Whether you believe the atman is eternally born into new forms or eternally dead and dissolved, Krishna says your grief is groundless—for the Self transcends both birth and death, and clinging to either view binds you to sorrow. The real teaching here is that your argument against action itself rests on a false premise: you are debating the nature of something you have not yet realized.

In modern life, this invites us to pause whenever we use abstract beliefs about fate, death, or meaninglessness to justify inaction or despair—and instead to act from clarity, not from confusion dressed up as philosophy.

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Bhagavad Gita 2.26 — BG 2.26

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Sanskrit text from the Bhagavad Gita (public domain). Commentary © Mahakatha.

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