Chapter 2

The Eternal Soul

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Gita 2.1
सञ्जय उवाच। तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम्। विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः।।

sañjaya uvāca taṁ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam aśru-pūrṇākulekṣaṇam viṣīdantam idaṁ vākyam uvāca madhusūdanaḥ

"Sanjaya said: Seeing Arjuna overwhelmed with compassion, his eyes filled with tears and full of sorrow, Krishna spoke these words."

All 72 verses of Chapter 2

  1. 2.1Sanjaya said: Seeing Arjuna overwhelmed with compassion, his eyes filled with tears and full of sorrow...
  2. 2.2The Supreme Lord said: Arjuna, where has this weakness come from at such a critical moment? It is not...
  3. 2.3Do not yield to unmanliness, Arjuna. It does not suit you. Shake off this petty weakness of heart and...
  4. 2.4Arjuna said: O Krishna, how can I fight with arrows against Bhishma and Drona in battle? They are worthy...
  5. 2.5It would be better to live as a beggar in this world than to kill these noble teachers. If I kill them...
  6. 2.6I don't even know which is better, to conquer them or be conquered by them. The sons of Dhritarashtra...
  7. 2.7My heart is overcome with weakness. My mind is confused about my duty. I ask you: tell me clearly what is...
  8. 2.8I see nothing that can remove this sorrow that is drying up my senses, not even if I win an unrivaled...
  9. 2.9Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus to Krishna, Arjuna, the conqueror of sleep and scorcher of enemies, said...
  10. 2.10O Dhritarashtra, then Krishna, with a smile, spoke these words to the grieving Arjuna, there between the...
  11. 2.11The Supreme Lord said: You grieve for those who should not be grieved for, yet you speak words of wisdom...
  12. 2.12There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor any of these kings. And there will never be a...
  13. 2.13Just as the soul passes through childhood, youth, and old age in this body, so too does it pass into...
  14. 2.14The contact of the senses with their objects, O son of Kunti, gives rise to cold and heat, pleasure and...
  15. 2.15O best among men, the person who is not disturbed by pleasure and pain, who remains steady in both, that...
  16. 2.16The unreal has no existence; the real never ceases to exist. Those who see the truth have concluded this...
  17. 2.17Know that which pervades the entire body to be indestructible. No one can destroy the imperishable soul.
  18. 2.18The body is perishable, but the soul dwelling within is eternal, indestructible, and immeasurable...
  19. 2.19One who thinks the soul can kill, or one who thinks it can be killed, both are ignorant. The soul neither...
  20. 2.20The soul is never born, nor does it ever die. It has not come into being, does not come into being, and...
  21. 2.21O Arjuna, how can a person who knows the soul to be indestructible, eternal, unborn, and unchanging, how...
  22. 2.22Just as a person discards worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so the soul discards worn-out bodies and...
  23. 2.23Weapons cannot cut the soul, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, and wind cannot dry it.
  24. 2.24The soul cannot be cut, burned, wetted, or dried. It is eternal, all-pervading, stable, immovable, and...
  25. 2.25The soul is said to be invisible, inconceivable, and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not grieve.
  26. 2.26But even if you think the soul is constantly born and constantly dies, O mighty-armed one, you still have...
  27. 2.27For one who is born, death is certain; and for one who has died, birth is certain. Therefore, you should...
  28. 2.28All beings are unmanifest before birth, manifest in the middle, and unmanifest again after death. What is...
  29. 2.29Some see the soul as amazing, some speak of it as amazing, some hear of it as amazing, and yet others...
  30. 2.30O Arjuna, the soul dwelling in every body can never be killed. Therefore, you should not grieve for any...
  31. 2.31Considering your own duty as a warrior, you should not waver. For a warrior, there is nothing better than...
  32. 2.32O Arjuna, happy are the warriors who are presented with such an unsought opportunity for battle, it opens...
  33. 2.33But if you do not fight this righteous battle, you will abandon your duty and your honor, and you will...
  34. 2.34People will speak of your everlasting dishonor. For one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.
  35. 2.35The great warriors will think you fled from battle out of fear. Those who once held you in high esteem...
  36. 2.36Your enemies will speak many unspeakable words, slandering your ability. What could be more painful than that?
  37. 2.37If you are killed, you will attain heaven; if you win, you will enjoy the earth. Therefore, arise, O son...
  38. 2.38Treating pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat as the same, engage in battle. Thus you will...
  39. 2.39I have explained to you the wisdom of Sankhya (knowledge). Now listen to the wisdom of Yoga (action)...
  40. 2.40On this path, no effort is ever wasted and there is no failure. Even a little practice of this dharma...
  41. 2.41Those on this path have one-pointed determination; their aim is single. But those who lack determination...
  42. 2.42The unwise speak flowery words, delighting in the letter of the Vedas, saying 'There is nothing else.'
  43. 2.43Full of desires, with heaven as their highest goal, they perform elaborate rituals aimed at pleasure...
  44. 2.44Those who cling to pleasure and power have their minds stolen by these desires. They cannot achieve the...
  45. 2.45The Vedas deal with the three gunas (qualities of nature). Rise above these three gunas, O Arjuna. Be free...
  46. 2.46All the purposes served by a small well are fulfilled by a great reservoir. Similarly, all the purposes of...
  47. 2.47You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never act for the sake of reward...
  48. 2.48Established in yoga, perform your actions, abandoning attachment, O Arjuna. Be equal in success and...
  49. 2.49Action with selfish desire is far inferior to action with equanimity, O Arjuna. Seek refuge in wisdom...
  50. 2.50One who is united with wisdom casts off both good and bad deeds in this very life. Therefore, devote...
  51. 2.51The wise, possessed of knowledge, giving up the fruits of action, are freed from the bondage of birth and...
  52. 2.52When your intellect crosses beyond the mire of delusion, then you will become indifferent to what has been...
  53. 2.53When your intellect, now bewildered by conflicting teachings, becomes steady and immovable in meditation...
  54. 2.54Arjuna said: O Krishna, what are the characteristics of one who is stable in wisdom and absorbed in deep...
  55. 2.55The Supreme Lord said: When a person completely gives up all desires of the mind and is satisfied in the...
  56. 2.56One whose mind is not disturbed in sorrow, who has no craving for pleasure, and who is free from...
  57. 2.57One who is without attachment everywhere, who neither rejoices upon receiving good nor despairs upon...
  58. 2.58When one can withdraw the senses from sense objects completely, as a tortoise withdraws its limbs into its...
  59. 2.59Sense objects turn away from one who abstains from feeding on them, but the taste for them remains. Even...
  60. 2.60O Arjuna, the turbulent senses can forcibly carry away the mind even of a wise person who is striving for...
  61. 2.61Having restrained all the senses, one should sit steadily with Me as the supreme goal. One whose senses...
  62. 2.62When a person contemplates sense objects, attachment to them arises. From attachment comes desire; from...
  63. 2.63From anger comes delusion; from delusion, confusion of memory; from confused memory, the destruction of...
  64. 2.64But a self-disciplined person, moving among sense objects with senses freed from attraction and aversion...
  65. 2.65In that serenity, all sorrow is destroyed. For the serene-minded, wisdom soon becomes firmly established.
  66. 2.66There is no wisdom for one who is not united (with the Self). For one without unity, there is no...
  67. 2.67When the mind runs after the wandering senses, it carries away one's wisdom, as the wind carries away a...
  68. 2.68Therefore, O mighty-armed one, whose senses are completely withdrawn from their objects, that person's...
  69. 2.69What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled. And what is the time of...
  70. 2.70Just as the ocean remains calm and unmoved though rivers flow into it from all sides, so the person into...
  71. 2.71One who has abandoned all desires and moves about without craving, without any sense of 'mine' and without...
  72. 2.72This is the state of realization, O Arjuna. Having attained this, one is never again deluded. Being...