Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 16
Bhagavad Gītā 2.16: What is real stays
नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः ।
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः ॥
nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayorapi dṛṣṭo'ntastvanayostattvadarśibhiḥ
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
Of the unreal there is no lasting being; of the real there is no ceasing to be. The truth about both has been seen by the seers of reality. This is one of the Gītā’s most philosophical verses; schools of Vedānta explain “real” (sat) and “unreal” (asat) in different ways.
For children
Krishna says: “Some things are like soap bubbles: they come and they pop. But what is truly real never pops. Wise people can tell the difference.”
Kṛṣṇa explains why the passing things of verses 2.14–2.15 need not shake us: they are not what is ultimately real.
Word by word
नासतो विद्यते भावो — What is unreal does not last
- asat: the unreal, what does not truly exist
- vidyate: there is
- bhāva: being, existence
नाभावो विद्यते सतः — what is real never stops being
- abhāva: non-being, ceasing to exist
- sat: the real, what truly is
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस् — the truth about both of these
- ubhayoḥ: of both
- dṛṣṭa: seen
- anta: end, final truth
त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः — has been seen by those who see what is true
- tattvadarśin: one who sees the truth
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.