Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 11
Bhagavad Gītā 2.11: Wise people don’t grieve
अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे ।
गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः ॥
aśocyānanvaśocastvaṃ prajñāvādāṃśca bhāṣase
gatāsūnagatāsūṃśca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for, and yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the dead nor for the living. With this verse Kṛṣṇa begins his teaching; the verses that follow ground it in the distinction between the changing body and the unchanging self.
For children
Krishna smiles at Arjuna and says: “You are very sad, and you are using big, clever words. But people who really understand are not sad like this.”
Arjuna has put down his bow and said he will not fight. Kṛṣṇa, who has been silent, now begins to teach. This is the first verse of his teaching in the Gītā.
Word by word
अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं — You grieve for those who need no grief
- aśocya: not to be grieved for
- anvaśocaḥ: you have grieved
प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे — yet you speak words that sound wise
- prajñāvāda: words of wisdom
- bhāṣase: you speak
गतासूनगतासूंश्च — for those who have gone, or are still here,
- gatāsu: one whose life has gone
- agatāsu: one whose life has not gone, the living
नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः — the wise do not grieve
- anuśocanti: grieve, lament
- paṇḍita: a wise person
Kṛṣṇa speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.