Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 19

Chapter 2 – Sankhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम् ।
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते ॥

Transliteration

ya enaṃ vetti hantāraṃ yaścainaṃ manyate hatam ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṃ hanti na hanyate ॥

Meaning

One who thinks the Self is a slayer, and one who thinks it is slain — both fail to understand. The Self neither slays nor is slain.

Word meanings

यः – who
एनम् – this (Self)
वेत्ति – knows, regards
हन्तारम् – as a slayer
यः च – and who
एनम् – this
मन्यते – thinks
हतम् – slain
उभौ – both
तौ – they
न विजानीतः – do not know
न – not
अयम् – this (Self)
हन्ति – slays
न हन्यते – nor is slain

Anvaya (word order)

यः एनं हन्तारं वेत्ति, यः च एनं हतं मन्यते, तौ उभौ न विजानीतः; अयं न हन्ति, न हन्यते ।

Explanation

At the centre of Arjuna's anguish were two thoughts: ‘I shall kill my elders’ and ‘they will be killed’. In this verse Krishna declares both notions false at a stroke. One who thinks the Self is a killer is mistaken, and one who thinks the Self is killed is equally mistaken.

The Self is neither the agent of killing nor its object. Killing and dying are events at the level of the body. The Self is an untouched witness to both. Shankara lays special stress on this verse: the Self is actionless (avikriya); no action takes place in it, so it can be neither the doer nor the object of the act of killing. For one who knows the Self, even the ego-thought ‘I am killing’ falls away.

The verse appears in almost identical words in the Katha Upanishad (1.2.19), showing that the Gita presents the essence of Upanishadic wisdom.

A caution is needed here. The verse does not mean that killing anyone is acceptable because ‘the Self does not die’. The Gita fully upholds the laws of right and wrong at the level of the body and of society. This teaching is addressed to one who is carrying out a righteous duty but has been overwhelmed by grief born of attachment. Its purpose is to remove grief, not to justify violence.

In life this understanding teaches that our true nature lies beyond all harm. Insult, loss and death touch the body and mind; our innermost truth remains ever intact.

Context

In 2.18 Krishna called the bodies perishable and urged Arjuna to fight. Here He makes clear that the Self neither kills nor dies. In the next verse (2.20) He describes at length the Self's freedom from birth and death.

Life lesson

Our real nature is never wounded or destroyed. This understanding lifts the shadow of fear and guilt that can keep us from right action — while the laws of dharma must always be honoured.

Key terms

Hanta: slayer
Hata: slain
Avikriya: actionless, changeless — the Self