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← Chapter 2: The Yoga of Knowledge

Verse 2.11

Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit

श्रीभगवानुवाच अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे। गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिताः॥

Transliteration (IAST)

śrī-bhagavān uvāca aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ

Word-by-Word Meanings

aśocyān-those not worthy of grief
anvaśocaḥ-you are grieving
prajñā-vādān-words of wisdom
gatāsūn-the dead
paṇḍitāḥ-the wise

Translation

The Supreme Lord said: You grieve for those who should not be grieved for, yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead.

Commentary

This verse marks the beginning of Krishna's actual teaching. It strikes at the root of Arjuna's confusion: his grief is misplaced because it is based on identifying the eternal Self with the perishable body. The wise understand that the Self is beyond birth and death.

Themes

jnanaatman