Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 18

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

अन्तवन्त इमे देहा नित्यस्योक्ताः शरीरिणः ।
अनाशिनोऽप्रमेयस्य तस्माद्युध्यस्व भारत ॥

Transliteration

antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ .
anāśino.aprameyasya tasmādyudhyasva bhārata ॥

Meaning

These bodies of the eternal, indestructible and immeasurable embodied Self are said to have an end. Therefore fight, O Bharata.

Word meanings

अन्तवन्तः – having an end, perishable
इमे – these
देहाः – bodies
नित्यस्य – of the eternal
उक्ताः – are said
शरीरिणः – of the embodied one
अनाशिनः – of the indestructible
अप्रमेयस्य – of the immeasurable, beyond proof by the senses
तस्मात् – therefore
युध्यस्व – fight
भारत – O Bharata

Anvaya (word order)

नित्यस्य अनाशिनः अप्रमेयस्य शरीरिणः इमे देहाः अन्तवन्तः उक्ताः । तस्मात् भारत, युध्यस्व ।

Explanation

In this verse Krishna draws the distinction between Self and body and gives His first practical conclusion: ‘tasmad yudhyasva Bharata’ — therefore, fight. All the philosophy so far has been leading to this point.

For the body there is a single word: ‘antavantah’, having an end. Every body has a beginning and an end; that is the law of nature. For the Self, by contrast, there are three epithets: ‘nitya’, eternal; ‘anashi’, indestructible; and ‘aprameya’, immeasurable, not knowable as an object by any means of proof. The Self cannot be seen by the eye or weighed on a scale; it is itself the knower of all, and so it never becomes an object of knowledge.

Shankara makes an important point: ‘fight’ here is not a new command but the removal of an obstacle. Arjuna came to the battlefield to fight; grief and delusion stopped him. Once he understands that the Self is indestructible, his delusion will fall away and he will naturally do his duty.

The verse is not an endorsement of violence. It is spoken in the setting of a righteous war, about the duty of a warrior who has taken up arms for justice after every effort at peace has failed. Its universal message is that one should not retreat from one's rightful duty out of fear of death or out of attachment.

Context

In 2.17 Krishna described the Self as all-pervading and indestructible. Here He calls the bodies perishable and tells Arjuna to fight. In the next verse (2.19) He says that the Self neither kills nor is killed.

Life lesson

Do not let worry over what is perishable make you forget what is imperishable. When right understanding dawns, the obstacles created by delusion fall away and one can do one's duty without fear.

Key terms

Antavat: having an end, perishable
Shariri: the embodied Self
Aprameya: immeasurable, not an object of any means of knowledge