Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 23
Bhagavad Gītā 2.23: What nothing can harm
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः ।
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो न शोषयति मारुतः ॥
nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṃ dahati pāvakaḥ
na cainaṃ kledayantyāpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
Weapons do not cut it, fire does not burn it, water does not wet it, and wind does not dry it. “It” is the self (ātman) discussed in the preceding verses. Schools of Vedānta interpret the self and its relation to the divine in different ways.
For children
Krishna says there is a special part of you deep inside — the real you. No sword can cut it, no fire can burn it, no water can make it wet, and no wind can dry it.
Kṛṣṇa is explaining to the grieving Arjuna that the self is not destroyed when the body is.
Word by word
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि — Weapons cannot cut it
- enam: this (the self)
- chindanti: cut
- śastra: weapon
नैनं दहति पावकः — fire cannot burn it
- dahati: burns
- pāvaka: fire
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापो — water cannot make it wet
- kledayanti: make wet
- āpaḥ: waters
न शोषयति मारुतः — and wind cannot dry it
- śoṣayati: dries
- māruta: wind
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.