Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 11

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे ।
गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः ॥

Transliteration

śrībhagavānuvāca .
aśocyānanvaśocastvaṃ prajñāvādāṃśca bhāṣase .
gatāsūnagatāsūṃśca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ ॥

Meaning

The Blessed Lord said: You grieve for those who should not be grieved for, and yet you speak words of wisdom. The truly wise grieve neither for the dead nor for the living.

Word meanings

अशोच्यान् – those not to be grieved for
अन्वशोचः – you have grieved
त्वम् – you
प्रज्ञावादान् – words of the wise, learned arguments
च – and
भाषसे – you speak
गतासून् – those whose life-breath has departed, the dead
अगतासून् – those whose life-breath has not departed, the living
च – and
न अनुशोचन्ति – do not grieve
पण्डिताः – the wise, knowers of the Self

Anvaya (word order)

श्रीभगवान् उवाच — त्वम् अशोच्यान् अन्वशोचः, प्रज्ञावादान् च भाषसे । पण्डिताः गतासून् अगतासून् च न अनुशोचन्ति ।

Explanation

Here the actual teaching of the Bhagavad Gita begins, and its very first sentence strikes at the root of Arjuna's thinking. Krishna says, ‘ashochyan anvashochas tvam’ — you grieve for those who do not deserve grief. The statement is startling. Are not the deaths of Bhishma, Drona and one's kinsmen worth grieving? Krishna's answer unfolds over the following verses: what they truly are — the Self — never dies; and what does die — the body — is by its very nature perishable. From either angle, grief has no real ground.

The second phrase, ‘prajna-vadamsh cha bhashase’, is a sharp yet affectionate irony. In Chapter 1 Arjuna spoke learnedly about family dharma, the fate of ancestors and the collapse of society. Krishna says, in effect: your language is that of the learned, but your grief is that of the ignorant. Talking about wisdom and being established in it are two very different things.

‘Gatasun agatasumsh cha nanushochanti panditah’ — the wise grieve neither for the departed nor for those still living. A ‘pandita’ here is not merely someone who has read scriptures. Shankara explains that ‘panda’ is the intellect turned towards the Self; the pandita is one who knows the Self. Such a person understands that death is only a change of body, and that even in life an excessive clinging to the body is a source of sorrow.

Shankara regards this verse as the true beginning of the Gita-shastra. Grief and delusion, he says, are the root causes of samsara, and it is to remove them that the Lord now begins to teach Self-knowledge. Ramanuja likewise explains that Krishna dispels Arjuna's confusion by distinguishing the eternal Self from the impermanent body. Madhva emphasises that the individual soul is eternal and ever dependent on the Lord, and therefore is no cause for lament.

Note that Krishna is not forbidding sensitivity or kindness. He is rejecting a grief that springs from ignorance and turns a person away from duty. Compassion becomes genuine when it rests on an understanding of the truth.

The verse speaks directly to modern life. We often suffer over things that are either inevitable or whose real nature we have not understood. When we grasp the deeper truth of life and death, grief gives way to calm acceptance and wise action.

Context

In 2.10 Sanjaya said that Krishna spoke as if smiling. This verse is the first sentence of Krishna's teaching. From 2.12 to 2.30 He explains in detail the eternity and immortality of the Self, which is the basis for overcoming grief.

Life lesson

It is not enough to talk wisdom; we must live it. Instead of agonising over what is inevitable, or over what never truly perishes, understand the truth and carry out your duty with a calm mind.

Key terms

Ashochya: not deserving of grief
Prajna-vada: learned talk, words that sound wise
Pandita: a sage whose understanding rests in the Self
Asu: life-breath, prana