Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 2 › Verse 30
Bhagavad Gītā 2.30: The self in every body
देही नित्यमवध्योऽयं देहे सर्वस्य भारत ।
तस्मात्सर्वाणि भूतानि न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि ॥
dehī nityamavadhyo'yaṃ dehe sarvasya bhārata
tasmātsarvāṇi bhūtāni na tvaṃ śocitumarhasi
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
This embodied self within the body of everyone is eternally indestructible, O Bhārata; therefore you should not grieve for any being. The verse concludes the teaching on the self (2.11–2.30) before Kṛṣṇa turns, in 2.31, to Arjuna’s duty.
For children
Krishna says: “There is a special, real you inside every person and every animal, and it can never be hurt. So you don’t need to be sad for anyone.”
Kṛṣṇa closes the first part of his teaching on the self, which began in 2.11.
Word by word
देही नित्यमवध्योऽयं — The one who lives in the body can never be harmed
- dehin: the one who lives in the body
- nitya: always
- avadhya: cannot be killed or harmed
देहे सर्वस्य भारत — in the body of every being, Arjuna
- deha: body
- sarvasya: of everyone
तस्मात्सर्वाणि भूतानि — so for any living being
- tasmāt: therefore
- sarvāṇi bhūtāni: all beings
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.