Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 27
Bhagavad Gītā 2.27: What begins also ends
जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च ।
तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyurdhruvaṃ janma mṛtasya ca
tasmādaparihārye'rthe na tvaṃ śocitumarhasi
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
For death is certain for one who is born, and birth is certain for one who has died; therefore you should not grieve over what is unavoidable. The verse states the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra) assumed throughout the Gītā and draws a practical conclusion from it.
For children
Krishna says: “Everything that starts also finishes, and then something new begins. That is how the world works, so we don’t need to be too sad about it.”
Kṛṣṇa continues the second line of reasoning begun in 2.26.
Word by word
जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर् — For whoever is born, death is certain
- jāta: one who is born
- dhruva: certain, sure
- mṛtyu: death
ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च — and for whoever dies, birth is certain
- janman: birth
- mṛta: one who has died
तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे — so about what cannot be avoided
- tasmāt: therefore
- aparihārya: unavoidable
- artha: matter, thing
न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि — you should not grieve
- śocitum arhasi: you should grieve
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.