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← Chapter 2: The Yoga of Knowledge

Verse 2.12

Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit

न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपाः। न चैव न भविष्यामः सर्वे वयमतः परम्॥

Transliteration (IAST)

na tv evāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ sarve vayam ataḥ param

Word-by-Word Meanings

jātu-at any time
na āsam-was not (existing)
janādhipāḥ-kings/rulers
na bhaviṣyāmaḥ-shall not exist
ataḥ param-hereafter

Translation

There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.

Commentary

Krishna establishes the eternality of individual souls. This verse refutes both the materialist view (that consciousness ends at death) and the monist view (that individuality is ultimately illusory). Each soul has always existed and will always continue to exist.

Themes

atmanjnana