Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 12

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपाः ।
न चैव न भविष्यामः सर्वे वयमतः परम् ॥

Transliteration

na tvevāhaṃ jātu nāsaṃ na tvaṃ neme janādhipāḥ .
na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ sarve vayamataḥ param ॥

Meaning

Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these kings; nor shall any of us ever cease to be hereafter.

Word meanings

न तु एव – certainly it is not that
अहम् – I
जातु – at any time
न आसम् – did not exist
न त्वम् – nor you
न इमे – nor these
जनाधिपाः – rulers of men, kings
न च एव – nor indeed
न भविष्यामः – shall not exist
सर्वे – all
वयम् – we
अतः परम् – hereafter, in the future

Anvaya (word order)

अहं जातु न आसम् (इति) न तु एव; त्वं न (आसीः इति न); इमे जनाधिपाः न (आसन् इति न) । अतः परं वयं सर्वे न भविष्यामः (इति) च न एव ।

Explanation

In the previous verse Krishna declared that the wise do not grieve. Now He gives the first reason: the eternity of the Self. He speaks across all three times. There was never a moment in the past when we did not exist, and there will never be a moment in the future when we shall cease to be. For what has neither beginning nor end, why grieve?

Krishna includes Himself, Arjuna and all the assembled kings in a single sentence. Eternity, then, belongs not only to God but to every being. Bodies change, names and forms change, but the conscious principle that dwells in those bodies always remains.

The classical commentators read this verse with an important difference. For Shankara the plural ‘we’ reflects only the plurality of bodies; the Self in truth is one, eternal through past, present and future. Ramanuja and Madhva treat the verse as key evidence that both the Lord and the individual souls are eternal, and that their distinctness too is eternal — for Krishna speaks of ‘I, you and these’ continuing into the future. Both readings agree that the Self is birthless and deathless.

This verse cuts the fear of death at its root. Once we understand that our true nature is not the body but the eternal consciousness that animates it, death no longer appears as an ending but as a transition. With this understanding Arjuna's grief begins to lift.

In everyday life too this vision is a source of great strength. One who thinks of himself merely as a fragile body lives in fear and insecurity; one who knows himself to be the eternal Self meets every challenge of life with courage and peace.

Context

In 2.11 Krishna said the wise grieve neither for the dead nor the living. Here He gives the first reason: the Self exists in all three times. In the next verse (2.13) He illustrates this with the changes of the body.

Life lesson

You are not merely this body but the eternal conscious Self. Remembering this truth lessens the fear of death and loss, and brings courage and steadiness to life.

Key terms

Nityata: eternity; being without beginning or end
Janadhipa: ruler of men, king
Jatu: ever, at any time